Six Years to life: Son of Hogwarts
by Laume
Summary: AU, no HBP. Severus, still six years old, now lives with Dumbledore and Harry at Hogwarts. Sevvy must cope with being the youngest student ever, and the students must cope with a six year old potions master running around the castle.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N the second part of the Six Years trilogy. This is part two: Son of Hogwarts. Severus (or Sevvy) has spent the summer in Harry's care as a six years old child after being de-aged by Voldemort. Their differences wit the adults sorted out (somewhat) they now return to Hogwarts for Harry's sixth year. Yes, no HBP, obviously.**

Prologue 

"Severus Snape," Professor McGonagall called.

The six year old walked up to the stool and climbed on it. He had to hold the Sorting Hat with both hands, or it would have rested on his shoulders.

"Hmmm, what do we have here?" the Hat said in surprise, "What are you doing here, child?"

Severus vaguely remembered this voice. He tried to remember very hard where…until he understood. He must've been Sorted before, the first time he was eleven.

"Indeed," commented the Hat, "and you return here under strange circumstances. This will never do. No, don't worry, you can still go to school here," the assessory assured the little boy.

The mouth of the hat opened, but instead of shouting the name of a House, it once again burst into song.

"_Headmaster, what are you thinking_

_They must have spiked the juice you're drinking_

_Although this boy has troubles agewise_

_I will certainly not sort him twice_

_He suffered enough the first time I did_

_Besides, what house would he really fit?_

_He will not go to Slytherin_

_There he would never again fit in_

_For Ravenclaw he has the brains_

_But would they understand his pains?_

_Hufflepuff in caring and loyalty_

_Yet a true badger he'll never be_

_And despite his brothers adoration_

_I fear Gryffindors motivation_

_No, headmaster, this will not do at all_

_Unsorted he will leave this hall_

_Son of Hogwarts, precious boy_

_May the entire castle be your toy_

_Headmaster, while the war is still raging_

_Do not count on your child re-aging_

_You know how much could go amiss_

_He is best protected like this_

_And now, young one, go join your dad_

_I want to party, even as a Hat!"_

Harry and Hermione smiled. Dumbledore looked surprised for a moment before he, too, smiled and opened his arms to his son.

"Well, let's follow the Hat's good advice," he admonished the Hall, "The Feast is ready; eat up!"


	2. Chapter 2

The Feast was a bit more subdued than other years. Slytherin House was…perplex, might have been the best description. They kept stealing glances at their Head of House, who was now eating his dinner next to the Headmaster, and chatting happily to the old man.

Those with Death Eater parents had of course known that the Potions Master had been punished, but seeing him like that was different from what they had imagined.

Draco Malfoy narrowed his eyes. His father and Lord Voldemort would reward him handsomely for bringing Snape to them.

Severus had eaten most of his dinner, and was now getting sleepy. He felt uncomfortable. A lot of the people in the Hall were staring at him, and although his Daddy was right next to him, the rest of the table contained the people who had tried to take him away from Harry.

The brown-haired, thin man that sat three seats away from him kept glancing at him with a strange look on his face. He felt fear constrict his throat. This man scared him, and he was pretty sure he had been very afraid of him as an adult as well. His eyes searched for Harry, Ron and Hermione. They were seated at the Gryffindor table, talking animatedly with a boy at their table, and turning around to the Ravenclaw table occasionally to talk to a girl that was being ignored by the rest of the Ravenclaws.

He wanted to go to Harry, but the other people at his table didn't look very nice. Maybe Harry wouldn't like it if his friends got mad at him. Harry would be mad at him if he lost his friends because of Sevvy.

Sighing sadly, he gazed longingly at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione noticed. She tapped Harry's shoulder, who immediately turned to watch the little boy. Harry smiled and waved. Sevvy responded with a wave and a small, shy smile.

His smile widened when Harry beckoned for him to come over, and he looked imploringly at Dumbledore.

The headmaster nodded and wiped some sauce from the small face before releasing him to join his friends.

Severus ran through the Hall, unaware of the stares, and climbed on the long wooden bench between Harry and Hermione.

"Hello, Sevvy," Harry said, "how was your dinner? I told you the Sorting wouldn't be scary, didn't I?"

Severus nodded happily, and when the remains of dinner disappeared and were replaced by dessert, he spooned a generous amount of icecream into his bowl.

"Why didn't the Hat put me in a House, Harry? It said I could go to school, though."

Harry ruffled the child's hair, earning glares from his yearmates and some of the other students.

Seamus leaned over. "Do you have to TOUCH that?" he asked in disgust, "I can't believe you, Harry. Are you sure you aren't a Slytherin?"

Sevvy felt tears pricking in his eyes, but he swallowed and looked up.

"Well, one thing is certain," he sneered admirably, "the Hat must never have considered Ravenclaw for you."

He quickly hid behind Harry before the older boy worked out the insult.

"Why you little…" Seamus and Dean both launched themselves at Severus, but Ron held back Dean and Harry grabbed the front of Seamus's robes.

"You listen to me very carefully," he hissed, "you deserved what he said. If you insult my brother again, you better throw up a shield quickly because I will hex you from here to Tokio and back. Do I make myself clear?"

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Professor McGonagall had walked up to them.

Harry, still fuming, released Seamus's robes.

"N..no professor," Dean stammered.

"That little brat insulted me!" Seamus complained.

Severus looked at Harry, who picked him up. They suddenly reminded Minerva of the boys she had seen that day when they tried to retrieve Sevvy from the Bungalow.

"He was defending himself," Harry said coldly, "against some very cold and hateful remarks that make what he said pale in comparison. But the new term is not even an hour old. I'm sure this was a one time incident."

Minerva recognized Harry's desire not to let the incident escalate for Sevvy's sake, and nodded.

"Why don't you take Severus to his father?" she suggested. Her eyes locked with Harry's, and he clearly read the intent. He would be able to tuck Sevvy into bed his first night back at Hogwarts.

"Harry?"

Severus was tucked warmly into his bed. Harry sat on the edge, looking around the room. It was not decorated in Slytherin colors like his room at the Bungalow had been. Instead, the ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky, and the walls were decorated with all of Sevvy's favorite animals. Dragons were hopping along with rabbits, and snakes comfortably rode on the back of Gryffins.

"Yes, Sevvy?"

"Why do they hate me, Harry?"

Harry hesitated.

"I wasn't a nice person when I was big, was I?" Sevvy asked, tears in his eyes.

Pulling him up, Harry rocked him.

"Sevvy…yes, it's true. You had a difficult personality when you were an adult, but not entirely through any fault of your own. Partly you were scared because your parents hurt you so much, and you had become afraid of people."

The boy looked up at him. "But…but why was I mean, then?"

"Because you felt that the only way you could make sure no one was mean to you again, was by being even meaner. And for the other part, it was mostly an act."

"Act?"

Harry nodded. "The adult you had to pretend to be mean a lot, too, because you were a spy, remember? You couldn't be nice to everyone because you had to make sure no one found out."

Sevvy sat up straight. "So it wasn't really my…my adult self's fault?"

Chuckling, Harry remembered his Potions Master. "You did enjoy being sarcastic," he grinned, "but no, much of your nasty streak wasn't entirely your fault. But we as students didn't see that, of course, we didn't know you were a spy."

Nodding slightly, Sevvy slid back under the covers. "But you don't hate me anymore, do you?"

Ruffling the black hair affectionately, Harry shook his head. "Hell no, kiddo, you're my little brother. And in time the others will see what a wonderful person you are. And what a wonderful person your adult self really was, underneath the nasty streak," he added as an afterthought.

"Daddy liked the adult me, didn't he?"

"He loves you no matter what age you are," Harry responded, "he was very fond of the adult you and he's very fond of you now."

"Do I have to leave when your friends are with you? Because they don't like me?"

Harry's eyes widened. "No, absolutely not! Ron and Hermione would be heartbroken if they'd never see you again, and those others will just have to accept that I have a wonderful little brother now."

The boy scooted further under the blankets. "So you think it'll be ok tomorrow? Class and all?"

"Just be yourself, Sevvy. Be patient. The professors will look after you."

"Except that scary man. The one who told you to get rid of me."

Harry's smile faded and his eyes flashed. "He knows what I will do to him if he hurts you," he said coldly.

Then he smiled, and dimmed the lights.

"You'll be fine, Sevvy. I'll pick you up after breakfast and take you to your first class, ok? Go to sleep now. Sweet dreams, kiddo."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I have not abandoned this fic! Don't worry. I've just been busy. I'll be updating more frequently from now on.**

The next morning, Harry walked an excited Severus to Charms class.

"Is it going to be fun, Harry? Am I allowed to do the same spells the other kids do?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure, Sevvy, but Professor Flitwick will help you, I'm sure."

Severus stopped with a frightened look on his face. "He's the one who can change me back into an adult, isn't he?"

"Yes, he teaches Charms, that's why he could find the countercurse. But he won't change you back."

"How do you know that?" Severus demanded to know.

They had reached the classroom ten minutes early, Harry noticed. He stepped inside, taking Sevvy's hand.

"Professor Flitwick?" he asked.

"Ah, Harry," the small professor smiled, "here to bring my new student, are you?"

"Yes, sir. But I think we need to discuss a few things."

The Charms professor pulled up two chairs to his desk with a flick of his wand.

"Sit down, boys. What's the problem?"

Severus clung to Harry, eyeing the Professor's wand suspiciously.

"Are you going to change me back into an adult?" he blurted out.

Flitwick, stunned, took a few moments before being able to respond.

"Merlin, child, of course not," he squeeked indignantly, "do you honestly think I would cowardly hit you in the back with that spell? No, you made your choice, your father and brother agree with you, and that's all there's to it in my book. I would be very grateful, however, if you let me scan you regularly. After all, no one knows exactly what that curse you carry will do in the long term. Better safe than sorry, right, boys?"

Severus nodded slowly. The small man had never really hurt him, and he sounded honest.

"Are you ready for your first class?" the professor asked kindly, "I'm glad you came early. If you don't mind, I'd like to go over some spells with you so I can see what skill level you are at. Now, if I were to ask you to do a Cheering Charm…"

Reassured that his brother would be fine with the Charms teacher, Harry took his bag and left for his transfigurations class.

-Malfoy Manor- 

Narcissa Malfoy entered the bedroom where her husband had been staying ever since his unfortunate encounter with Harry Potter and the de-aged Severus Snape. Voldemort had been very upset about Lucius's failure to bring the boys to him.

Now, several weeks later, Lucius was well enough to sit up in bed and read, or send mild hexes at the unfortunate house-elf whose duty it was to look after him.

"Dear, Draco has sent a letter," Narcissa said, "and I believe you will find it interesting."

Lucius took the letter with a scowl, but his face brightened considerably when he read what his son had written.

"Narcissa, dear, you must contact your family. They must take this missive to the Dark Lord for me, as I cannot go myself."

Three days later, Draco Malfoy received a letter from his father with extensive instructions.

-Hogwarts-

Harry grinned as he saw Sevvy dance off to class. Professor Flitwick had assured him the boy was doing great – he seemed to have retained his adult magic – and he had moved him from the third year class to the fourth.

"A Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw class," the Charms professor said, "I thought it suited him much better than the Gryffindor/Slytherin third year class. Their reaction to him was less than pleasant, although I managed to keep them in check. I've already advised the Headmaster to let him take all his classes with Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs."

Harry himself had an enjoyable couple of days, Voldemort-free, homework free and reunited with his Seeker spot on the Quidditch team.

It was over Quidditch, however, that he and Dumbledore had their first disagreement with Sevvy.

"No."

The headmaster and Harry both shook their heads.

Severus pouted. "But Dad! It's not FAIR!"

"I happen to agree with Albus, Sevvy," Harry said, "I know it sucks for you, and of course you are mad over this, but it really is too dangerous for you to try out for a house team."

"But I'm a student now! I can play Quidditch! You and the twins all said I am good!"

Dumbledore silenced the boy with one look.

"Enough. It is final, Sevvy. You are not joining a Quidditch team. You would be playing with kids at least twice your age, and often more. We don't want to see you hurt."

"You are mean!" Sevvy shouted, "I can fly if I want!" He ran to his bedroom and slammed the door.

Dumbledore sighed. "Children…"

Harry grinned. "It's a good thing. He dares to be angry with us and act childishly without fear of being beaten or cursed. Consider it a compliment. The first weeks with me he hardly dared to breath for fear of punishment."

"My poor boy," Dumbledore said, and winced when they heard the distinct sounds of a small foot kicking the wood of a door.

"Maybe not such a poor boy," he corrected himself.

Shrugging, Harry continued to drink his tea. "It was a big disappointment for him, Albus. He loves to fly. Couldn't we set up something else? Plenty of the first year students have younger siblings…how about a Little League?"

For all their brains, Sevvy thought, Ravenclaws could be really dimwitted sometimes. He had snuck out of the castle that afternoon after managing to convince the Ravenclaw captain that he was allowed to try out.

Now he only needed to avoid his father and Harry, but considering the headmaster was occupied with his work and Harry was having a team meeting for the Gryffindor try-outs later, he had little to fear from them.

"Good," the Ravenclaw captain said, "I want all six of you to do a few laps first. After that, we'll release the bludgers to see what sort of beaters you'd make."

The laps were easy. Sevvy, small, light and with a decent broom, was easily the fastest. The bludgers however, were a different matter.

With the Weasley's and Harry, he had always practiced with bludgers that had cushioning charms, and were spelled to be lighter than regular bludgers. Now he found he wasn't quite strong enough to fend of REAL ones.

It was lucky, in a way, that his efforts brought him closer and closer to the ground. When finally a bludger hit his broom and he tumbled off, he was only about four feet off the ground. By some miracle, he hurt nothing more than his ankle and his pride.

But before he could even begin to pick himself up and inspect the damages, a rough hand grabbed him and hauled him upright. He looked into the gleaming eyes of the DADA professor.

"I thought Dumbledore and Harry forbade you from participating in the try-outs?" the werewolf sneered, "They said so over breakfast, at least. I'm sure they will find this…interesting."

For some reason the man sounded familiar. Severus winced as he put weight on his injured foot; there was definitely something wrong with his ankle!

The professor paid no heed as he dragged the small boy to the castle, ignoring the occasional whimper. In the hall they ran into Harry.

"Sevvy? What on earth…"

Not missing a step, Lupin stalked towards the stairs that led to Dumbledore's office. "He went to the Ravenclaw try-outs," he told Harry, "I just got him from the pitch."

"He WHAT?" Harry exclaimed, running after the pair.

Once inside the office, Lupin released the boy and looked at Dumbledore with what Sevvy could only describe as a triumphant smirk as he explained why they were there.

Dumbledore turned to the child.

"Is that true, Sevvy? Did you try out when I'd forbidden you?"

The child nodded sadly.

"Go to your room," the headmaster said, "you are grounded for today. And no flying for a month."

A whole month! A month without his broom! That was too much, surely?

Looking at the faces of his father and brother, Sevvy thought it best not to argue the matter. He dragged himself up and limped to his room.

Dumbledore immediately turned and rummaged through his potions cabinet.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked.

"Finding that cream for sprains and bruises," Dumbledore replied, "I don't know if you noticed, but he apparently sprained his ankle. I better go help him clean up and heal his injuries."

"I have to go to our own try-outs," Harry said, "See you later."

Recognizing a dismissal, Lupin left with Harry.

The young man turned towards him.

"We did forbade Sevvy to get on a team, and his punishment is more that just, but you were a bit too happy to turn him in to my liking," he surveyed the werewolf with narrowed eyes, "not to mention that you didn't stop to see if he was hurt when he clearly is. Would you have treated another first year the same?"

Lupin's eyes glowed. "He is not a first year. And apparently you and the headmaster were incapable of keeping the brat under control."

Harry sighed. A cloud appeared on the clear blue sky that had been the beginning of this year. A cloud shaped like Remus Lupin.

Heading outside, he went to see what fresh blood would be reinforcing their team soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Time flies when you're having fun. For Harry that was certainly true. Before he knew it, Halloween was approaching.

Sevvy had regretted the loss of his broom for a month, but bore it well. There were plenty of other things to do, after all. Although his family caught him on occasion, staring longingly at the practicing players. The two of them just smirked at each other and said nothing, only carrying out their nefarious plans behind the little boy's back.

Over time, Harry came to trust Dumbledore more and more. And Dumbledore came to trust Harry. He knew Harry and Sevvy were close, and Harry had been even more than a big brother to Sevvy. Often, when Harry had come up to say goodnight to Sevvy, he stayed for tea with Dumbledore. They discussed everything; Voldemort, Death Eaters, the war. Dumbledore didn't make the mistake of keeping Harry in the dark twice, and Harry grew more mature now that he was treated like an adult and shared some of the responsibility of bringing up a very unique boy.

"Remus drives me mad," Harry sighed to Dumbledore one evening, "it's like he's jealous of the time I spent with Sevvy, but at the same time, he is a jerk to me. I just don't get it."

"He's not over Sirius's death yet," Dumbledore suggested, "he's quite confused. I told him when I gave him this job that he had to talk to the Grey Lady. I better check to see if he has."

"Be that as it may, Defense class is becoming dangerous for me. He always puts me up front to test very heavy hexes; says it'll train me for Voldemort, but I think it's more likely to get me injured. I know Sevvy is going to start Defense soon; I'd rather not have him in the same room as Remus alone."

"I agree. I'll teach him Defense myself. I don't really know what to do with Remus, Harry. I can't really say anything about it, considering my own behavior these past years."

The headmaster looked away in embarrassment.

"It'll sort itself out, I'm sure. And we're ok, Albus. Really. Now…how about that Little League…"

-Elsewhere-

"So, Lucius…back on your feet, I see. Pardon the pun."

"Yes, my Lord, thank you for your mercy, My Lord…" the Death Eater crawled on the floor to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robes.

"You sent a message regarding a letter from your son, Lucius. Tell me about it."

"My Lord, Draco has informed me that the traitor and the brat are at Hogwarts, and he asked for instructions. He is willing to assist in taking them from the Muggle loving fool and bringing them to you, Lord."

"Is that so? There is hope for your line than, after all, Lucius. How does he propose to do that?"

"M…my Lord…at Halloween…"

Voldemort rolled his eyes and faked patience. "Yes, Lucius, Halloween…"

"My Lord, Draco suggests…the students will be allowed to visit Hogsmeade…and no doubt Potter won't be able to resist his brother's pleas to take him along. They will be vulnerable there, Lord. Draco has always been able to lure Potter away from safety for a fight; he can do so again. And the boy will be left unprotected."

Voldemort stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm…interesting, Lucius. Very interesting. Your son is showing promise, no doubt thanks to your efforts to educate him. I am pleased. You will tell your son to proceed with this plan and to keep you informed."

"Yes, my Lord. Thank you, my Lord, thank you…"

Lucius escaped to home as soon as he was able to.

-Hogwarts-

"Sevvy! Come on, Sevvy, wake up!"

The child sat up and rubbed his fists in his eyes. "H'rry?" he slurred sleepily.

"Yes, Harry. Come on, get up. We have a surprise for you."

Severus opened his eyes to see Harry standing with two brooms in his hands – his own, and Sevvy's – and his father at the door, twinkling like mad.

"Is the month over, yet?" he asked hopefully, looking from his father to his brother.

"Yes, little one," Dumbledore laughed, "and we have found a solution so you won't be tempted to play with the house teams again."

Sevvy jumped out of bed and hastily put on his robes.

"Hold it, hold it!" Dumbledore said, "breakfast first. You can't fly on an empty stomach."

"I get to fly! I get to fly!" Sevvy danced through the room.

"Yes, yes, you get to fly," Dumbledore smiled warmly, forcing the boy to eat at least his toast.

"Now, come along."

They reached the Quidditch pitch, where, to Sevvy's surprise, a group of kids were waiting for them.

"Now, children," Dumbledore said, pushing Sevvy towards the group, "this is Harry, and he is the coach of Hogwarts's very first Quidditch Little League. You can all come to fly together, and fortunately there are enough of you to make two teams. I promise you will get to play three real matches on this pitch, but for practice, you will use that one," he motioned to a smaller pitch that had been created a short distance away.

It's hoops weren't quite so high, and the balls were charmed for safety. The bludgers had cushioning charms on them, and the Quaffle was smaller than the real one, so the children –aged between six and eight years old – would be able to hold it easily. The Snitch was a bit bigger and not as ridiculously fast.

Dumbledore gave Sevvy a hug and left for the castle, leaving Harry with a group of fourteen very excited children.

"You are Harry Potter," a small girl said.

"I know I am," Harry smiled, "and who are you?"

"Danielle Bones," she replied.

"Tell me, Danielle, you have flown before, of course?"

"Yes, Susie taught me. I'm very fast."

"Good," Harry said, "I think we will first have some try-outs, to see what positions you would be best suited for. Don't worry, there's fourteen of you and we will have two teams, so everyone gets a place on a team. Pick up your brooms and fly three rounds around the pitch, and between the hoops."

The children all scrambled to their brooms and mounted.

Harry took note, and saw that little Danielle –who turned out to be nearly eight, instead of the five years he'd initially thought she was – and Sevvy were the fastest and most agile. Both of them would make good Seekers.

Two redheaded children, a boy and a girl –cousins to Ron and Ginny, Harry discovered, and seven year old twins – were both great Beaters, but lacked the flawless teamwork of Fred and George. In fact, they worked much better against each other, so Harry put them on different teams.

It took him about an hour, but then all children had a position on one of the teams and were happy with it.

They played a few practice games before the first of the House Teams showed up for practice.

"Come on, kids," Harry winked at the Hufflepuff players, "they won't have me spy on their tactics. There's lemonade and cookies for you inside, and your parents will be here to pick you up soon."

They waved goodbye to the children, and then Sevvy threw his arms around Dumbledore's and Harry's neck.

"Thank you, Daddy, thank you, Harry," he said happily, "now I have a team too!"

Harry made a mental note to discuss the Little League with the other Quidditch teams; maybe they would be willing to play a fun match with the youngsters once in a while.

"Harry?"

Remus Lupin approached Harry after breakfast the week before Halloween.

"Yes, professor Lupin?" Harry replied formally.

"Harry, please, it's Remus or Moony," the older man replied pleasantly.

"You are my professor again," Harry pointed out.

"I want to be more than that, Harry," the man pleaded, "I want us to be friends."

Harry nodded. "I know you want that, but you haven't acted very friendly lately."

Remus scowled. "You were always running after Snape. We were good friends before he forced himself on you. If you'd only leave him to Dumbledore I'd be willing to be friends again."

Harry stared at him. So was half the Hall, and Harry just hoped that the Staff table was far enough away so Sevvy hadn't heard the exchange.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, professor," he said coldly, "I have responsibilities towards my brother that I do not take lightly. If you cannot accept that, we have nothing to talk about."

He started for the door, but felt a hand around his arm.

"Harry," hissed Remus, "stop this nonsense. He is not your brother. He is the man who made your life hell."

"The man who made my life hell is Voldemort. Snape is the man who saved my life several times. SEVVY is my brother. Now release me."

With an angry scowl, Remus Lupin let go and stalked off towards his classroom.

Draco Malfoy watched the display with interest.

"Professor, could I have a word?"

Remus stared at the silverhaired Slytherin. "What is it, mr Malfoy?"

Draco sat down on one of the desks. "I think you and I have a common interest."

"I do not know what you are talking about."

Draco smirked. "You are interested in getting Potter…Harry, to yourself again. I am interested in removing my Head of House…well, former Head of house…from the influence of…" he quickly swallowed 'of pathetic Gryffindors' knowing THAT would not go down too well with Remus John Lupin.

"The influence of people who are sadly misplacing their affections," he finished smoothly.

"And what do you plan to do about that?" Lupin faked not being interested while a gleam appeared in his eyes.

"I understand the Weasleys wanted to take Snape in. Next Hogsmeade weekend, I will distract Potter…Harry, so he will leave Snape in your care. Arthur and Molly Weasley are planning to be there to visit their children, are they not?"

Remus never bothered to ask where the Slytherin got his information. He nodded eagerly.

"While I distract Po… Harry, you hand Snape over to Arthur Weasley. He goes off to live with them, P..Harry will listen to reason, and everyone is satisfied."

"Deal. I'll be happy when that boy is safely over at the Burrow and out of my sight."

Draco left, smirking to himself and scribbling a note to his father suggesting he changed his appearance to that of Arthur Weasley the next week.


	5. Chapter 5

Sevvy woke up early on the day before Halloween. It was Saturday, and he would be allowed to go to Hogsmeade with Harry.

He quickly washed and pulled on a set of deep red robes that professor McGonagall had given him. He liked them; they had a little lion playing with a large snake on his chest. The embroidery really moved, like many of his Daddy's embroidered robes did!

Harry got up early as well, knowing Sevvy would be anxious to get going. When he entered the Common Room, Ron and Ginny approached him.

"Oi mate, listen, we're really sorry…" Ron started.

"Mum and Dad have to go to Diagon Alley with us first. My wand got damaged in Defense Class last week. The headmaster gave us permission to go with Mum and Dad, but he thinks it's too dangerous for you and Sevvy to come along," Ginny said apologetically.

Harry nodded. "He's probably right about that."

They stared at him. They knew Harry had become a lot more responsible, but to accept the headmaster's refusal without complaint?

"I wouldn't have gone with Sevvy anyway," Harry explained, seeing their confused faces, "and I wouldn't have let him down by not taking him to Hogsmeade either. Are you still coming this afternoon?"

"Yes, Mum said to tell you and Sevvy to meet us for lunch at the Three Broomsticks at 13.30."

"Oh good. If you're back that late I can justify buying Sevvy some Honeydukes Chocolate first! See you this afternoon, then. Have fun in the Alley and be careful!"

An hour later, Harry and Sevvy sat in one of the carriages that took them to Hogsmeade. Sevvy was excited.

"Daddy gave me an all-allo…he gives me some money every week, so I can buy things! Can I spend some today?"

"Yes, your Daddy said you could. Let's not forget to bring him back some lemon drops, ok?"

"I'm going to buy Daddy a present," Sevvy said, "And professor Mac and professor Flitwick for getting me presents at the start of term. Do you think they like chocolate?"

Harry suppressed a snort. Severus had tried, but failed at pronouncing Minerva McGonagall's name. Since he could not call her by her first name at school, he had settled on 'professor Mac'.

"I think they'd love getting a present from you, but don't forget to save some money to buy something for yourself, ok?"

"I want a book," Sevvy said decidedly, and Hermione, sitting across from them, grinned proudly.

Two carriages ahead of them, Draco Malfoy and Remus Lupin said in uncomfortable silence, not liking each other's company, but aware of their joint project for the day.

"So you remember the plan? I distract P-Harry, you grab the kid, and hand him to Weasley."

"Yes, yes, I am not an idiot, thank you. I don't understand what is in it for you, however."

"Removing my Head of House from Hogwarts. That's not where he belongs now."

"I agree," Remus said, staring out the window.

-later-

Sevvy danced out of Honeydukes. "I have lemon drops for Daddy, a tin of ginger newts for professor Mak and a slab of dark chocolate for professor Flitwick. Now I want to…"

"Potter," a voice behind them sounded.

"Malfoy," Harry replied neutrally, shoving Sevvy behind him.

"So, still brainwashing my Head of House, I see?" Draco sneered.

"I'm not brainwashing him. He is happy."

"He's a snot-nosed brat! I bet you like this, don't you? Getting revenge."

Harry didn't react, but turned around, wanting to take Sevvy's hand and walk on, but Draco, seeing that his taunts had not the expected result, grabbed him from behind and pinned his arms to his side.

Remus Lupin appeared, grabbed Severus and carried the screaming child across the street, where he pushed him in the arms of Arthur Weasley. Then he stood back, and Draco disappeared into a small alley.

"Stop him!" Harry roared after the running Weasley.

"Harry, let him go, he'll raise the brat at the Burrow and we can…"

Harry raised his fist and slammed it into Remus's face.

"You idiot! That's not Arthur! The Weasley's are in Diagon Alley!"

He grabbed his wand.

"He's going for the mountains. Hermione, go get help, quickly!"

He raced after the retreating pair.

Sevvy kicked and screamed, fighting as much as he could.

"Keep still, or I'll send a Killing Curse at your precious brother," Arthur threatened.

Sevvy's eyes widened in fear, and he quieted. Suddenly he saw the man's red hair losing its color, and growing long.

In a matter of minutes, short red hair had given way to long silvery strands. Lucius Malfoy ran on, the child in an iron grip.

Harry panted. The run up the mountain was steep and tiring, but he knew he was gaining on the imposter he suspected to be Lucius. The Death Eater was carrying a child, and Harry's condition was better to begin with. He just wished Sevvy would make some noise so he knew where to go.

Lucius reached a small alcove in the mountain side where he put the child down.

"One word from you, and your brother dies," he whispered, as he held his wand at the ready. Severus nodded, and slowly moved a bit further away.

Harry skidded to a halt. He smirked. Sevvy was a smart child, and for a moment he felt his chest swell with pride despite their predicament. Sevvy had probably been gagged or threatened into silence, but the boy was communicating all the same. He was standing in such a position that the sun was casting his shadow in Harry's direction, alerting the older boy to their presence around the corner.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Harry whispered, pointing to himself. He floated into the air. With his wand he directed himself upwards until he floated 15 feet above the ground. Then he directed himself forward.

Lucius failed to notice, focused as he was on the corner he expected Harry to come around.

Harry directed himself to the ground, motioned for Sevvy to get out of the way and shouted "Petrificus Totalis!"

Lucius whipped around and managed to dive just in time.

"POTTER!" he screamed, "Expelliarmus! Sectumsempra!"

Severus paled at the last one.

"Protego!" Harry yelled. It blocked the Expelliarmus, but the Sectumsempra cut his lower leg.

"Crucio!"

Harry convulsed with pain while Lucius laughed madly. Harry's wand dropped from his limp hand.

Through the pain, he glared at Lucius.

"Clear your mind…Put the pain away in a separate part…" Harry panted and slowly got to his feet.

"That…that's impossible!" Lucius said, still keeping up the curse. Then two things happened simultaneously; Harry cast a wandless Expelliarmus, causing his wand to drop, and Severus hit him with a rock.

He balanced on the edge of the ridge, throwing himself forward. In doing so, he lost his footing. Desperately trying to grab a hold on something, anything, he found the fabric of Sevvy's robes, and the two of them went over the ridge, plummeting to certain death.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione raced to the castle, screaming for the Headmaster at the top of her lungs all the way.

Before she was halfway down, Dumbledore Apparated right in front of her, or so it seemed. Even her mind was in this moment distracted enough not to think of Hogwarts: a History and wonder how the Headmaster managed this feat.

"Headmaster…Remus…Arthur took Sevvy…"

Dumbledore visibly relaxed. "If Arthur took Sevvy…" then he froze. "But Arthur is not in Hogsmeade!"

"Imposter," Hermione panted, "Harry's after them. Sent me back to get help."

"Quickly," Dumbledore said, pale and shaking, but determined, while he conjured a broom, "Get on and hold on tight. Where did they go?"

-At the cliff-

Harry felt himself go numb with dread as Lucius dragged Sevvy with him over the edge.

"NOOOOOO!" his mind screamed.

He threw himself on the ridge and looked down. It was very deep, and they were still falling.

"ACCIO SEVVY!" he thought, never noticing he didn't say the words.

"ACCIO SEVVY ACCIO SEVVY ACCIO…."

The body of Lucius Malfoy splattered on the rocks, leaving what remained of him laying there like an odd sack of potatoes.

"SEVVY!"

Severus stopped falling two feet from the ground. Hovering for a second, he began to ascend again, faster and faster.

To Harry it seemed like hours. He focused so completely that the whole world ceased to exist, nothing inhabited the earth anymore besides him and the helpless little boy whose life was now, literally, in Harry's hands.

Finally, finally Sevvy reached the ridge, floated a bit above it, and landed in Harry's arms.

Harry grabbed him and pulled him to his chest, holding him as tight as he could in utter terror.

Sevvy gave a choked sob.

"Shhhh, Sevvy, you're safe now, I have you. I have you," Harry soothed, rocking and calming both himself and the boy.

Sevvy went limp, the shock too much for him. Harry felt his heart pounding in his throat, but a quick check assured him the boy was breathing and his heart was beating.

He never moved from the ridge, nor did he try to retrieve his wand. He simply held his brother and cried.

When Dumbledore and Hermione arrived, they paled, seeing the still child in the arms of a crying Harry.

"Sevvy, no, not my Sevvy, not my child," Dumbledore moaned, kneeling next to them.

That woke Harry up.

"He…he is alive," he managed, "he…he…" he simply pointed to the abyss. Dumbledore took one peek over the edge and turned away.

Then he pulled both boys to him and held them.

"Come, Harry. Come, we need to get you two back to the castle."

Suddenly Harry looked up. "I'm going to kill Remus," he said coldly.

He refused to let go of Sevvy until they were in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Then he allowed the nurse to examine the boy, and to heal his own leg that was still bleeding profusely. Hermione had taken care of both wands.

"What happened, Harry?" Dumbledore finally asked, holding Sevvy in his lap after the nurse had assured them the boy had just fainted from shock and would wake up soon. He reached out and pulled the shaking teen to his side.

"D…Draco..distracted me, or tried to. He wanted to pick a fight. I didn't respond and was about to take Sevvy and walk away, when Remus came from out of nowhere, grabbed Sevvy and pushed him in Arthur…Lucius's hands. Lucius was polyjuiced to look like Arthur. When he did that I realized that it couldn't be Arthur because the Weasleys were in London. So I told Mi to get help, and went after them. We…we fought, and Lucius lost his balance on the cliff. But when he fell, he grabbed Sevvy's robes."

The blood drained from Dumbledore's face.

"Sevvy…Sevvy fell off the cliff?"

"Yes," Harry whispered, "I…he was so close to the ground before I finally managed to Summon him back…" then he broke down, and sobbed into Dumbledore's shoulder.

The old man held both boys close, keenly aware of how easily he could have lost them.

Hermione entered the ward, with the Weasleys on her heels. Followed by a very shaken, very subdued Remus Lupin.

Harry growled when he saw the man.

"YOU! You filthy, lying, backstabbing…" he snatched his wand from Hermione's hand and leveled it at the werewolf.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," his voice was as low and dangerous as that of the Potions Master had been when extremely angry, and nearly all occupants of the room shivered involuntarily.

"I…I thought…it was Arthur…" Remus stammered.

"You thought it was Arthur. Did you cooperate with Draco Malfoy, Remus?"

The man lowered his head and made no reply.

"DID YOU?" Harry spat out at him.

"Y-Yes," the DADA professor admitted, "I was…so jealous…I wanted the boy…to go…"

"Well, you nearly got your wish," Harry had driven him into a corner now, and pressed his wand under the man's chin, "he nearly died. DIED, Remus! You nearly killed a six year old boy!"

Drawing back his wand, Harry positioned himself for casting.

"No, Harry," Arthur Weasley suddenly pushed forward, as Dumbledore seemed to have eyes only for the child on the bed, "No. Not like this."

Harry stared at him. "I won't kill him, just hurt him an awful lot. He nearly killed him, Arthur…"

"I know, Harry. I know. But this is not the way, you know that. You told him that yourself at the Shrieking Shack once, remember?"

Harry nodded. "I hate you, Remus. I never want to see you again."

The werewolf visibly crumbled.

"I'll take him," Arthur said, dragging Remus from the corner by his collar, "You are sacked, of course," Dumbledore finally looked up and nodded.

"You will come with me. If we give you to the Ministry they will kill you, and that would destroy any hopes of a normal life for werewolves. So you will be under my supervision, working in either the Burrow or Grimmauld Place when you're not on missions for the Order. I'll see to it he doesn't bother you, Harry."

"And Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"Lucius is dead," Harry answered, shaking, "Draco…I don't know where Draco is."

"He'll be expelled," Dumbledore said, "and I will make sure there is a warrant for his arrest out by the end of the day. If he enters the castle, Hogwarts himself will contain him. She…I can sense her sometimes…she does not take kindly to people who hurt Sevvy."

-Grimmauld Place, later that day-

"Clean. No magic." Remus Lupin picked up the Muggle cleaning agent and sighed. After undergoing Molly Weasleys anger as well as Harry's, he was completely exhausted. No rest was allowed, though; he had the whole house to clean in the next few days. Muggle style.

-Hogwarts-

The rest of the group had left. Harry and Dumbledore stayed with Sevvy, who began to slowly wake. His arms flailed about and he sobbed in his sleep.

"Harry, Harry, help me!" he screamed, and bolted upright.

"Shhh, son, Harry is here. You are safely at home," Dumbledore soothed, rocking the boy.

"Daddy!" Severus flung his arms around his father and held tight.

Harry sat besides them and stroked the black hair, relieved to hear the boy's voice again.

"Harry," Sevvy sighed, and let himself be taken in his brothers arms.

He didn't say another word, just clung tightly to them.

The nurse, alerted by the child's voice, entered and examined him again.

"Physically he is fine," she said, "the best thing now is to take him home to your tower, Albus, familiar territory. Use the floo; I doubt he is up to large crowds."

She pulled the headmaster aside.

"They both need help, Albus. Be very patient with Severus. I don't know how much he saw or remembers about…well. At least now we do know that the curse does not reverse itself under severe stress. But you need to get them help. Neither of us is experienced enough to help that child."

Back in the tower, they put Sevvy down for a real nap. He wouldn't close his eyes unless either Harry or Dumbledore held him, and they happily obliged.

"Can I…" Harry started awkwardly, "I want to stay with Sevvy…and I don't…don't feel up to feasts now anyway…please, sir, can I stay here? Just for tonight?"

"Of course, Harry," Dumbledore immediately reassured him, "you can. And in the morning, you and I are going to find you two someone to talk to. No debates, Harry."

Harry hesitated. "I already talk to someone, sir."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Who?"

"Brother Salvatore, Albus. The Fat Friar. The Hufflepuff Ghost. I met him, I mean, got to know him when we were here in the summer. He helped me out with some things from...from my childhood. So I'd prefer to talk to him about this. He's good with kids. Let him have a chat with Sevvy. If Sev gets along with him, it'd be better. Explaining to a new therapist how Sevvy is 6, but born in 1960 would be much riskier, right?"

Dumbledore turned for a moment to soothe Sevvy through a nightmare that threatened to take hold before nodding.

"I agree."

Then he conjured another bed.

"You need a nap as well, Harry. It was a very trying day."

Harry gratefully kicked off his shoes and laid down.

"Albus?" he yawned, "Do you think I was too hard on Remus?"

Dumbledore smiled. "You showed more restraint than I felt myself capable of. At any rate, we'll sort out our feelings about him as well, I guess. We're…not able to think calm and clear when it comes to him right now."

"Guess not," Harry sighed, "Suppose I should be glad for not killing him…"

He shuddered, and tried to get rid of the image of Malfoy's broken body, and flashes of Sevvy laying there as well.

Dumbledore stroked his forehead and murmered a sleeping charm, and Harry knew no more.


	7. Chapter 7

Sevvy entered his father's rooms at Harry's hand, pale but smiling.

"Hello, my boy," Dumbledore greeted him, holding out his arms to hug his child, "did you have a nice chat?"

"Yes, daddy, Brother Salvatore is really nice! I accidentally called him 'fat friar' but he didn't get angry. Can I go draw a picture for him?"

"Of course you can. I'll call you later for a drink, is that alright?"

The boy climbed on a chair at the far end of the room, but well away from the window.

"He's afraid of hights," Harry said, worried, "he doesn't even want to fly anymore."

The headmaster nodded. "It will take time, Harry."

"Any word about Malfoy?"

"We scraped the elder one off the rocks. No word on Draco. Narcissa appears to be genuine when she says she doesn't know where he is."

Harry bit his lip. "I'm not comfortable as long as he is out there. He'll do anything to get revenge on Sevvy."

"He is well protected, Harry," Dumbledore comforted, casting an affectionate glance at the boy, who was completely concentrated on his drawing.

"I know, I know. Salvatore is happy with his progress. I just can't shake the feeling that I failed him somehow."

The headmaster patted his knee. "Without you, he'd be dead, Harry. You saved his life. I'm sure brother Salvatore would say the same. How did you end up talking to him in the first place?"

"Well…"

_Harry was wandering aimlessly through the castle. Sevvy was spending time with Dumbledore and Harry felt a bit out of sorts. After all the stress of the past weeks, his own problems only now seemed to catch up with him. Not paying any attention, he gasped and shuddered when he walked straight through a ghost._

"_Hey there, young man, you should watch where you're going," the cheerful voice of the Hufflepuff ghost chided him playfully, "I remember from my own time among the living that walking through one of us is extremely uncomfortable."_

"_You can say that again," Harry gasped, "Sorry, sir. I wasn't paying attention."_

"_That much is obvious. Anything I can help you with, young Chosen One?"_

_Harry made a face._

"_Not liking that title much, are you?" the ghost chuckled._

"_I might be the Chosen One but I never got to choose anything," Harry scowled, "and I am only sixteen. All I wanted was a normal life."_

"_You are a wizard," the ghost pointed out, "to many people, you already ARE abnormal."_

_Harry paled. "I know," he whispered._

_The ghost motioned to an abandoned room that was, surprisingly, furnished and clean._

"_This used to be my room when I taught here," the ghost said, "when I still went by the name of Brother Salvatore. Anyway, have a seat."_

"_Brother Salvatore, eh?" Harry smiled tensely, "mind if I keep calling you that?"_

"_Oh, certainly. It would be nice to hear my own name again after all that time."_

"_You're not going to invite me to your deathday party, are you?" Harry asked, suddenly suspicious._

_The ghost roared with laughter. "Honestly, a deathday party! No, no, I don't celebrate the day I died, and I certainly won't invite the living to such a party. Not unless I know for a fact they have extremely strong stomachs. I just continued to celebrate my birthday, and the house elves provide food for any human guests I entertain."_

"_May I ask who those are?"_

"_Pomona Sprout, usually, and the occasional student. And of course, Severus Snape, though I doubt he remembers me now."_

"_I don't know," Harry sighed, "his adult memories are still there, he just can't access them. They do surface occasionally."_

"_How did you and he meet up this summer?" the ghost asked._

"_It was some weeks ago…"_

"So I told him that story, and then he got me to talk about my childhood, and Cedric, and Sirius, and before I knew it, we were having a chat almost daily."

"And that helped."

Harry grinned. "At first it only got worse, but eventually yes. I do feel better now. And I have loads more respect for Hufflepuffs."

A week later, on Saturday, the Little League was excited. The best of their teams would be playing against Gryffindor on the big pitch.

Danielle would be Seeker, as Severus still refused to fly a broom. The Weasley twins had, through lots of practice, finally learned to work together, and made a good team of beaters. Though they still preferred to be on opposite teams.

Sevvy had refused to accompany the headmaster to the teacher's top box, so he stayed with Harry, who was in function as Coach.

Madam Hooch had agreed to referee the friendly match.

Precautions had still been taken, though. The bludgers were still cushioned, the Quaffle was still a bit smaller for the children, but they did use the official Snitch. The Gryffindor team was smiling broadly. To them, this was a party. Harry grinned. Ginny was taking his place as Seeker so he could coach the Little League though the game, and he knew his team was confident that they would easily beat the children without so much as a fight. They were planning to make it last long as to not put the youngsters off. Besides, it was good practice.

Hooch's wistle sounded and the Chasers were off. The Gryffindors soon found out that their small opponants were not at all at a disadvantage; they slipped easily through openings that they were too big for. Soon, they had scored three goals: 30-0 to the Little League!

The Beaters were having more trouble, however. Their opponants were much larger and stronger. It was difficult beating back the bludgers.

Soon one came near a Chaser, who was forced to outmanouvre it, and lost control of the Quaffle.

The Gryffindors then proceeded to even the score: 30-30.

Danielle made a race for the Snitch, but it was too fast and disappeared from view when the Gryffindor Seeker cut her off. Nevertheless, she pulled up and started looking again.

Susan was happily cheering from the stands, earning glares from the Gryffindors.

The Weasley twins, annoyed, eyed each other briefly –making Ron gulp in the goal, knowing full well what that glance meant- and sped over the field, sending bludgers at the Chasers with uncanny precision.

The Little League Chasers were heartened by this, and scored. 40-30.

The game went on for long minutes without any goals on either side. Just as Danielle was pulling up to see if she could find the Snitch, one of the Gryffindor Beaters sent a bludger at her. The thing itself didn't do much damage, but she was quite some distance from the ground.

Harry felt his insides freeze as she lost control of her broom and came speeding to the ground. He threw out his wand, as did Dumbledore and Hooch. The three charms hit the broom and it slowed down. Danielle fell forward off it, onto the ground. Harry ran unto the pitch.

"She broke her arm," Madam Hooch, who had been there first, said. Madam Pomfrey rushed unto the field as well.

"Oh dear. It's easy enough to mend, don't worry, child," she said to the pale girl, "but I'm afraid you won't be finishing this game. Come with me, and we'll fix you up. You're a very brave girl, I must say," she soothed the child.

Harry told her she had done very well. He sighed. They were left with no Seeker. Then he felt a tug at his sleeve, and Severus stood next to him, his broom in his hand.

"I'll go," he said simply.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, worried.

"I'll be fine," Sevvy assured him, "you will be here, watching, won't you?"

"Of course, Sevvy," Harry said, crouching in front of the child.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Sevvy. I won't make you."

The boy looked at him solemnly. "But I want to. I want to win this game."

Harry looked up, catching Dumbledore's frightened and worried expression. Then he looked at Sevvy's determined little face.

"Alright then, but any sign of trouble, and you come straight down to me, understood? Whether we lose the match or not. You are more important."

"I promise, Harry," Sevvy said, already mounting, "but I want to win!"

"Annoyingly, infuriating, brave little Slytherin," Harry mumbled through clenched teeth as the boy took off, a strange mixture of worry and pride on his face.

Ten minutes later Danielle returned, her arm in a sling and still looking a bit pale, and sat down next to Harry.

"Sevvy is flying!" she said, delighted.

"Yes, he is," Harry responded absentmindedly, focussed on his brother, looking for any sign of trouble.

Ginny had spotted the Snitch, only half a second after Severus did. They both sped towards it at full speed. Severus curled up on his broom, making himself as small as possible so he would go faster.

Then, just before he reached the Snitch, he pulled up, confusing both Ginny and the Snitch, took a dive and landed behind the small ball, snatching it quickly from the air as he dove again to avoid a collision with Ginny.

"I have it!" he yelled happily and flew down to his brother, "Harry, I have it!"

The children all landed and ran towards them, cheering as Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

"Match to the Little League, 190-30!"

Harry allowed himself to be dragged off to the Hall to celebrate with the children. He thought it best to avoid his humiliated teammates for the moment.


	8. Chapter 8

"My…my….my Lord…AAARGGGHHHHHHHHHH."

Draco Malfoy writhed and screamed under the Cruciatus Curse.

"A child. A CHILD! Twice now that rotten whelp has defeated you! At least he did save me the trouble of killing Lucius."

Voldemort paced angrily while Draco tried to catch his breath.

"He is six years old, for Salazar's sake! How hard can it be?"

"P-P-Potter…" Draco wheezed.

"POTTER is still only 16! Snape is SIX! A teen and a child have managed not only to evade, but to actually KILL one of my most competent followers. That does not say much about the rest of you sorry lot."

"I am sorry, my Lord," Draco nearly sobbed, "I'm sorry. I tried…"

The rest of the circle trembled, certain that a whole barrel of painful spells would follow, finished off with a Killing Curse.

But Voldemorts horrid features softened slightly.

"Yes, little snake, you did try. It was not completely your fault. So I will give you another chance."

"Thank you, my Lord, thank you," Draco kissed the hem of the robes, "but how? I cannot return to Hogwarts."

"You have other uses," Voldemort said absentmindedly, "you're not half bad in Potions, and since my most talented Potions Master is indisposed, someone will have to brew. Besides, they won't be at Hogwarts forever. There's always the holidays."

-Grimmauld Place-

Remus Lupin groaned as he carried the heavy bucket of water to the kitchen. The house never seemed to get any cleaner, despite him working on it every single day. He wiped the sweat of his forehead.

He was given very little freedom. He would be awoken at 6. While he showered and dressed, his breakfast was left on the desk in his room. Promptly at 6.30, he was expected downstairs for his first chores of the day; fixing breakfast for whoever was in the house. Which was at least one person, since he was never left alone.

After serving breakfast and doing the dishes, he would be forced to tidy and clean. The house resisted any and all attempts he made to disinfect it, but he wouldn't be let off trying anyway. Then he would make lunch, clean up, have a quick snack himself, do more chores, make dinner, clean up, and after that he was finally allowed to rest. In his room. Locked in.

He was beginning to understand what Harry had gone through at the Dursleys, and he wasn't even beaten or starved.

Today was especially bad. This day of the week, his minders were Fred and George. And that always, always meant trouble.

As he put the bucket down and grabbed the mop, it sprang to life and began slapping him with the wet end. He ran and cowered in a corner, trying to protect himself, but the mop didn't relent. The bucket flew through the air and dumped its dirty and wet contents over his head.

Sighing, the werewolf began to mop up the dirty water, throw it out and clean the kitchen. He started on chopping the vegetables for dinner, but he had a lot of trouble catching them. They ricochet through the kitchen, clearly intent on avoiding being peeled and chopped.

Remus sighed as he heard the snickers of the twins from behind the closed door. Fred and George had been most upset when they learned what he had done to Sevvy. He was fair game to them, and he knew it.

-Hogwarts-

Christmas was approaching fast, and the teachers had given Dumbledore Sevvy's study results.

Harry walked into the Headmaster just as he was reading the letters. The old man was practically glowing with pride.

"What?" Harry asked, smiling.

"He got straight O's, all round," Dumbledore beamed, "look!"

Harry felt himself grin from ear to ear as he read the wonderful things the teachers had written.

"This calls for a celebration," he smiled, "even though it IS technically cheating; he has already DONE all of this before."

Dumbledore's eyes became a bit distant, the way they always did when he was reminded of his adult son.

"You miss him, don't you?" Harry said softly.

The headmaster smiled. "Don't worry, Harry. Yes, I miss my snarky, clever adult Severus, but I wouldn't miss this time with Sevvy for the world! It's wonderful to finally be able to give him what I feared I'd never be able to do for him; change his horrid childhood to a happy one."

Sevvy entered at that moment, after finishing his homework in his room.

"Hi," he said shyly, "is something wrong?"

Harry scooped him up in his arms and spun him around.

"You are the best, smartest, most wonderful boy in the whole world," he said, grinning.

He swung him over the desk, straight unto Dumbledore's lap.

"You certainly are," the old man agreed, "your teachers sent in your results so far. I'm very happy with them, and Harry and I decided we need to celebrate."

"I propose a chocolate party," Harry said.

"Chocolate party?" Sevvy's eyes shone with hopeful anticipation.

"Yes, chocolate party. Instead of dinner, we invite our friends here –Ron, Hermione, the Twins, Albus and me – and we eat chocolate cake, chocolate frogs, chocolate icecream, chocolate pudding and we drink chocolate milk."

"Oooohhhhh, yes, please," Sevvy bounced on his fathers lap in excitement, "Please, Daddy, can we do that? Please?"

Dumbledore found it impossible to say no with those large, dark, pleading eyes on his face. He never intended to say no, anyway; he silently wished he could have asked for a chocolate party for his birthday!

Sevvy ran off, eager to invite Ron and Hermione to his party, which would be held the next day.

Dumbledore looked at Harry intently. "You want him to have the things you never had, too," he said softly, "you want to give him the childhood you never had."

Harry nodded. "I'm…I'm kinda trying to let him be a child for both of us," he admitted.

"I am sorry, Harry, I really am," Dumbledore said, resting his hand on Harry's shoulder.

The young man patted the old, wrinkled hand. "I know, Albus. I know. At least I can accept now that you made an honest mistake. Anyway, this chocolate party…"

-The Burrow-

Remus Lupin half preferred the Burrow to Grimmauld Place. It was certainly easier to clean. It was more cheerful, though he was still kept on a very tight leash.

He was also more vulnerable to pranks.

He released some of his frustration on the garden gnomes. Degnoming the garden was a daily chore here.

Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared.

Draco Malfoy.

"Having you work like a house-elf? Disgraceful," the youth said, wrinkling his nose.

"Do you want revenge?"

Lupin's eyes glowed. "Revenge?"

"It's nearly Christmas. They will all go to Hogwarts to celebrate with Snape and Potter. You will be brought along; the full moon is somewhere in that holiday. Crabbe and Goyle have assigned to stay as well. I am polyjuicing myself into Crabbe. Hand Snape to me. Our Lord will reward you most handsomely. No scrubbing floors or…degnoming gardens with him."

Lupin stared at the young man.

"I do not want to see Wormtail," he warned.

"The rat will be yours, as a reward, I am sure," Draco drawled. He turned. "Remember, Lupin. Christmas."

-Hogwarts-

"Give me the icecream bowl, Harry," Ron said, his mouth full of chocolate muffin.

Harry, gulping down some chocolate milk, quickly passed the bowl.

Sevvy was happily eating with both hands, covered head to toe in chocolate. Dumbledore had long since given up on Scourgifying him with every morsel he dropped.

The old man himself twinkled like mad at the mountain of chocolaty food. The twins had brought some of their chocolate gags. Chocolates with an effect similar to Muggle helium; when eating one, the victim squeeked for half an hour. Needless to say, they had all tried one.

"We tested these on Lupin," Fred giggled, careful not to let Sevvy overhear, "but it wasn't right yet; he was Silenced for a whole day."

Harry smirked. "So you're giving him a hard time, eh?"

"Certainly, young Harry…"

"Revenge is sweet…"

"and our chocolates even sweeter," George finished, handing Harry another one.

"He will come with your family for Christmas, though, that worries me," Harry muttered.

"He'll be in another part of the castle, far away from the festivities," the twins promised, "you have nothing to fear from him."


	9. Chapter 9

Severus happily sat in the livingroom of his father's quarters while Dumbledore and Harry were busy levitating the huge tree into place.

"Bit more to the left, Harry…just a bit."

"ARGHH! No, Albus, don't push it any more, it'll fall!"

"A foot or so to the wall, and it's done."

Finally the tree stood. Reaching almost up to the ceiling.

Severus clapped his hands in delight. "It's BIG!"

Dumbledore smiled, and gave Sevvy a large star. "Come, my boy, I'll levitate you to the top and you can put on the star."

Sevvy giggled as he was flying through the air on his way to the top of the tree. He leaned forward, and with some effort managed to get the star on top.

"Well done," Dumbledore praised him, and then gave him a box of ornaments to levitate into the tree.

Harry smiled at the boy, who was taking his job very seriously, carefully levitating each ornament, his tongue between his teeth.

"Do you think Santa will bring me a present this year?" Sevvy asked, "he never brought me one before. Mother and Father said that was because I'm such a bad boy."

Dumbledore picked up the child and sat him on his lap.

"It's not true, Sevvy, you aren't a bad boy at all! You are a very good, sweet boy, and I am sure Santa will bring you something this year."

The headmaster glanced up at Harry's face. The teen had a closed off expression, clearly hiding his own pain underneath a mask of indifference.

"I'm sure Santa will bring us all a nice present," Dumbledore said softly, catching Harry's eye.

Harry smiled, a bit strained, but a real smile none the less. Severus hugged his Dad, and went back to decorating.

Dumbledore put an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, it just hit a bit close to home, you know? The Dursleys always told me the exact same thing. I'm going to make sure Sevvy gets lots of presents this year," he said firmly.

"We both are," Dumbledore chuckled, "are we still on for this afternoon?"

"Absolutely," Harry agreed, "we will meet you at the Three Broomsticks."

Harry escorted Sevvy to Quidditch practice that afternoon. When they reached the pit, Sevvy gave an exited scream.

"Fred! George!" He rushed over to them and was swept up and thrown into the air. He giggled.

"Are you coming to see our practice?" he asked.

"More than that, little brother," Fred began,

"Harry here thought you needed to see…"

"Some decent Beaters in action."

"So we're your guest coaches for the day," George finished.

The Little League cheered. They had heard lots of stories about the Twins from the Gryffindor Quidditch team – who had gotten over their embarrassment of losing to the kids in a mere month, and after a prank or two on Harry – and were excited that the two (in)famous Beaters would be training with them that afternoon.

"Aren't you going to stay, Harry?" Sevvy asked.

"I have a lot to do today, kiddo," Harry answered, before he leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially in his ear, "Make sure you show them those new moves we practiced, ok? I didn't tell them anything about it. Make it slow and humiliating for them."

Both black-haired boys were sporting the same evil grin, making the twins suddenly feel a twinge of nerves.

-Hogsmeade-

Harry entered the Three Broomsticks and found Dumbledore sitting comfortably in a corner with Ron and Hermione, all three sipping butterbeer. Hermione was apparently sounding out the headmaster on a Transfiguration problem, and he happily explained away.

"No, the Gargoyles aren't Transfigured, they're Charmed, " he said, "a strong Charm is cast on them, tied to a password. When the password is spoken, the Charm activates and the Gargoyle jumps aside. Now, as you noticed, the suits of armor have similar charms, but they don't last very long. You need another Charm, known as a Locking spell, to prevent the enchantment from wearing off."

"But what is the difference between Charms and Transfiguration, sir?" Hermione persisted in her quest for knowledge.

"Sometimes very little. Fields of expertise overlap, as I'm sure you know, considering your parents are Muggle specialists. But in this case, the Gargoyle isn't changed into anything; that would be Transfiguration. Charms has more to do with making inanimate objects – or humans, in other cases – do things they normally would not be able to do. Like jumping aside when a certain word is spoken."

"But Hogwarts: A History says the Gargoyles are Transfigured!" Hermione's eyes were literally begging the Headmaster to agree with her favorite book.

"Well, they are. They are blocks of rock, Transfigured into Gargoyles. There haven't been many Transfigurational Artists, but one of the most gifted has created the Hogwarts Gargoyles. However, it is a Charm that makes them move."

Hermione nodded, satisfied for now. Or she had just caught the looks Ron gave her, that clearly asked her why she was discussing school things during their holidays.

They left, wandering through the village. Hermione, of course, decided on buying Sevvy books, whereas Ron gave him some really cool Quidditch gloves, and Harry got him a Broomstick Servicing Kit Deluxe. He also bought him a wonderfully soft, stuffed Teddy Bear.

"Don't you think he's too old for that?" Ron asked indignantly.

"He's not yet seven years old," Harry protested, "and he never had a toy before."

Ron looked at him, his eyes wide. "Never had a toy before?" he echoed.

Harry shook his head. "His parents abused him. He never got a present, let alone a toy. He needs a Teddy Bear."

"Bloody Hell," Ron said, his eyes flashing in anger, "no wonder Dad looks like he wants to kill someone whenever someone mentions Sevvy's parents."

"And no wonder he grew up to be such a git the first time," Harry said softly, "I doubt he was such an evil bat as we always thought he was."

Ron nodded, still not entirely able to reconcile the image of the nasty, snarky Potions Master with Sevvy.

"Are his parents…" he began.

"They're dead," Harry said, "Albus said they died in his fifth year. Apparently they got into a fight and cursed each other."

Ron's eyes bulged. "They…oh…but…that was just before…you know…the Shrieking Shack!"

Harry nodded, swallowing painfully. "He must have been relieved to finally be free from the abuse, only to have it start again at the hands of my father and godfather, as well as Albus…who was his guardian at that point."

"Dumbledore was his guardian but he did nothing to punish James and Sirius?" Ron asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"He regrets it now, deeply," Harry said, shrugging slightly, "but yes. It undoubtedly helped in driving Snape to Voldemort. He returned shortly afterwards, when he realized that the Headmaster was the less cruel being of the two."

They joined the others in Honeydukes, and bought many galleons' worth of sweets.

"I need to go do some shopping for my parents," Hermione said.

"Me too," Ron remembered.

Harry grinned. "I've got everything I need. I'm going to put it away so I can wrap it later."

Dumbledore waved merrily, and the two returned to the castle.

Sevvy had returned from Quidditch practice, his cheeks red and glowing, and his eyes sparkling with joy. Practice with Fred and George was always good, but today the moves Harry had taught them worked great! Fred and George had landed in the mud in a most undignified manner several times, and Sevvy was sure he heard them grumble and plan revenge on Harry, but he and his friends had laughed so hard their sides ached.

His father entered, and he jumped into the man's arms, chatting away about his afternoon.

Dumbledore smiled, and listened, before he finally settled the child on his lap and took out a shrunken packet.

"I brought you something," he said, "because you're such a sweet boy."

Sevvy studied the package with wide eyes, and tore away the painting. Then the expectant look on his face changed into one of horror, and he stiffened.

"You're due to start Potions after the holidays," Dumbledore continued, oblivious to the child's terror, "so I bought you a standard kit."

Sevvy felt as if a huge cold hand had grabbed his insides and SQUEEZED. Hard. He looked at the potions set. In his mind he felt the hexes again that his mother punished him with, and saw the horrible potions he had been forced to make, and suddenly disgusted, he threw the box away from him.

"SEVERUS!" Dumbledore shouted, appalled.

"No, I won't, I won't," the child yelled back at him, running to his room.

Dumbledore followed him, but found the door locked.

"Severus, open the door immediately. I will count to three. One…Two…Three."

No response. "Alohomora!"

The door didn't budge. Dumbledore felt that the boy was pouring in his magic to keep the door locked.

Contemplating his next move, Dumbledore pointed his wand at the door just as Harry walked in.

"Albus? Sevvy?" he asked, seeing the disaster area in the livingroom. Potions ingredients were scattered everywhere…wait. Potions ingredients?

"SEVVY!" he called frantically, running to his brothers bedroom.

"Harry!" Dumbledore looked at him. "He's in his bedroom, but he is locking the door with his magic. I can open it, but it would cause him pain. I just don't know what's gotten into him."

"You gave him Potions ingredients," Harry said, "Let me try."

He leaned to the door. "Sevvy, it's Harry, kiddo. Can you open the door for me?"

For a moment, it was silent. Then a small voice came, "Harry?"

"Yes, Sevvy, it's me. Come, open the door, kid."

Suddenly the door flung open and a small figure launched itself at Harry.

"Don't let him hurt me Harry, help me, help me!"

Dumbledore stared at the boy in shock. Did the child honestly think he would hurt him?

Harry carried his brother into the bedroom and motioned for Dumbledore to follow. He sat the child down next to him and put an arm around him.

The boy was still terrified. "I don't want to take Potions, please, don't let them make me, Harry!"

"Of course not, kiddo, you don't have to go to Potions, I promise," Harry reassured him, "but your Daddy doesn't understand, kiddo."

Severus looked up at him, his eyes wide. "Why not?"

Harry stroked the black hair. "Because when you were an adult, you loved Potions. He thought it would make you happy."

Severus shyly glanced at Dumbledore.

"Can I tell him, Sevvy?" Harry gently asked.

Sevvy nodded, and buried his head in Harry's shirt.

"Albus, Sevvy's mother forced him to make horrible potions, and used a whipping hex on his hands if he did anything wrong. He hates Potions, and is very afraid you will make him go."

Dumbledore dropped on his knees in front of the boy.

"Oh Sevvy, I'm so sorry, I didn't know! Of course you don't have to go to Potions if you don't want to."

Sevvy looked up carefully, studying Dumbledore's face to see if he was honest. Then he threw his arms around his father's neck.

"I'm sorry I made a mess, Daddy," he sniffed.

Dumbledore held him close and nuzzled the dark hair. "Shhh, child, it's ok. We'll clean it up for you in no time at all. In the meantime, would you like some chocolate frogs instead?"

Voldemort's Lair –

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, my Lord," Draco said, "The werewolf will take the child, and give him to me. I'll be disguised as Crabbe. I'll use the Portkey you gave me back here."

"Excellent, Draco. Make sure nothing goes wrong this time, or else…"

Hogwarts –

The werewolfs eyes spied the castle, keeping careful note of the small boy, his minders, and a certain Slytherin.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry had stayed overnight at Dumbledore's rooms so he could be there when Sevvy got to open his presents.

The Weasleys and Grangers were staying at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione would be opening their presents with their parents.

It was 8 am, and everything was quiet, Harry noticed. He checked the pile under the Christmas tree. Good, Sevvy's presents had arrived. It never occured to him that there might be presents for him there, too.

He slowly snuck into the boy's room. He smirked a bit as he remembered Albus's long lecture on why it was a bad idea to use your magic to continue to feed a spell when an opponant might try to break it.

Of course, his lecture would have been much more impressive if all three of them hadn't had chocolate all over their face, and in Albus's case, his beard.

"Sevvy! Sevvy, wake up, it's Christmas!"

The boy moaned and rolled over, intent on sleeping on.

"Sevvy! Presents!" Harry scolded.

That woke the boy up. "Did Santa leave me a present?" he asked in awe.

"Go wake up your Daddy," Harry urged, "and we'll go see."

Severus ran into Dumbledore's bedroom and jumped straight on top of him.

"Daddy, Daddy, can we go see if I got a present? Please?"

Dumbledore groaned a bit; waking up with a full bladder and a child jumping on top of you is never pleasant, but he didn't complain. He was only too happy that the child was completely over the Potions kit incident.

"Of course we can, dear child, but Daddy needs to visit the bathroom first, alright?"

With that, Dumbledore beat a hasty retreat from the room, and Severus returned to his own bedroom, grinning at Harry.

"Daddy had to pee," he giggled.

Harry tried VERY hard not to laugh. He should point out to the child that peeing is a perfectly normal activity that most people undertake several times a day, but is not normally the topic of civilised conversation. He should not laugh.

He failed miserably.

Giggling along with Severus, he made the child put on slippers. He considered a bathrobe, but he was quite certain Molly Weasley had sent them all a Weasley jumper, so he didn't bother.

Dumbledore re-emerged, glaring briefly at the giggling boys before taking Sevvy's hand and guiding him to the living room.

For all his enthusiasm, Sevvy suddenly seemed reluctant to enter.

"What if Santa didn't think I was good enough?" he whispered, going a bit pale, "I got in trouble for the try-outs…and I wasn't always good."

Dumbledore lifted him in his arms and carried him into the room. He halted by the tree, where a mount of presents were lying. He could see at least four with Sevvy's name attached.

"See, child?" he whispered in the boy's ear, "you have been very good, and we love you very, very much. Santa knows that, and he brought you lots of presents. All the presents he wanted to bring you over the years, but couldn't."

That didn't need explaining. Sevvy considered it perfectly normal that Santa hadn't wanted to run into his parents.

The three settled down, Sevvy on Dumbledore's lap, and the old wizard waved his wand. Presents flew over to each of them.

Harry stared at his. It wasn't a Weasley jumper or the usual stack of chocolate from Ron, or the pile of books from Hermione.

He slowly opened it, and found a tiny Pensieve, full to the brim with memories. He stared at Dumbledore.

"I know you can buy yourself anything you want," the old wizard said softly, "but what you want most you can't buy. I copied all my memories of your parents at school, and after school for you and put them in there. It's well protected, don't worry."

Harry nodded, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Albus," he said hoarsely.

Suddenly they both blushed deeply and looked at the boy.

"It's ok," Sevvy said calmly, "I know Santa doesn't really bring presents. It's just more fun to pretend."

"How did you know?" Harry asked.

Sevvy sucked in his lower lip. "When I was an adult I didn't like Christmas," he said thoughtfully.

Harry sighed. "Another flashback. I could have known. But you are right, Sevvy. It's a lot more fun to pretend. You know what? We will pretend Santa brought these, but we can still thank the people who gave them to us."

Sevvy nodded happily, and tore the paper off his own present.

"A servicing kit!" he bounced with joy, "look, Daddy!"

Dumbledore admired the gift, and opened his own.

Two socks fell out. Two very…unique…socks. They were both of a warm wool, but one sock reached up to his knee, while the other barely covered his ankle. They were knobbly, and in the most lurid colors.

Sevvy looked at him in anticipation.

"I made them myself, Daddy," he said shyly, "Hermione taught me to knit, and I worked on them for a long time. I cheated only a bit, with magic. Do you like them?"

Dumbledore swallowed, and pointedly avoided looking at Harry.

"I think these are the very best socks anyone ever gave me, Sevvy," he said with conviction, "thank you so much!"

And to the child's utter delight, he pulled them on immediately.

It went on for a long while after that. Besides the servicing kit, the Quidditch gloves, and books from Hermione, Sevvy also got lots of painting equipment from Dumbledore, a nice set of childsized dress robes from Minerva, of course a Weasley Jumper, green with a silver S, an enchanted Muggle trainset from Arthur, a box of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and finally Harry's Teddy Bear.

He hugged the Bear right away and sighed in contentment.

"Mother wouldn't let me have a bear," he said, and then, happily, "I'm going to call him Harold."

This time Harry avoided looking at Dumbledore.

The three of them had a lot of fun that day, all laying on the floor to try out Sevvy's new trainset.

-That evening-

"Put on your dress robes, Sevvy. You can come to the Christmas Dinner party with us."

Sevvy looked up from his book and smiled widely. "Really? Can I wear my new ones?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. But I'm going to spell them so they stay clean," he said, waving his wand over the robes.

They were a deep red, not bright, but they brought out Sevvy's dark eyes and hair perfectly.

"Can I go pick up Harry?" Sevvy asked, "I want to thank Ron's Mom and Dad and Ron and Hermione and Fred and George for the presents, too."

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, you can. Go straight to their rooms, and come back with one of them. No wandering around the castle alone."

Sevvy nodded and rushed off.

He hadn't gone very far, when he suddenly felt a very strong man grab him. A hand was pressed over his mouth, and he saw the glittering eyes of the werewolf.

Dumbledore met the rest of the party in the Entrance Hall. Harry and Ron were discussing how they would use their boxes of pranks in the coming term, well out of Molly's earshot, of course.

Dumbledore frowned when he couldn't find his son among them.

"Harry, where is Sevvy?" he asked.

Harry looked up surprised. "Isn't he with you?"

"No," Dumbledore said, a nasty foreboding feeling taking hold of him, "he went to find you, and thank the Weasley's for his presents. He left over half an hour ago."

Harry paled.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Sevvy's missing," Harry whispered.

At that moment, Crabbe and Goyle, the only remaining Slytherins in the castle, made their way in.

The two hadn't given anyone trouble since Draco was gone. They really were incapable of independent thought without him. The teens just ignored them.

Crabbe looked around, smirking.

Lupin entered, holding a bundle, wrapped in a black cloak, but Harry and Dumbledore recognized immediately the deep red of Sevvy's dress robes.

With a snarl, Harry wanted to leap forward, only to be held back by three wands.

"Back!" Crabbe sneered, "don't move, or the child dies."

Lupin had also drawn his wand, the bundle awkwardly cradled in his arms so he could hold it properly.

Goyle pointed his wand as well, not really understanding what was going on, but if Vince said so, he'd do as he was told.

"Excellent, Lupin," Crabbe smirked, "The Dark Lord will reward you handsomely."

Lupin approached him.

"The boy IS alive, isn't he? Our master would be displeased if he died already."

"The boy is fine," Lupin said.

"YOU!" Harry yelled, "if I get my hands on you…I will…"

Dumbledore held him back.

"Don't do this, Remus," he said, "please. Give Sevvy back to us."

Lupin ignored them both.

"You lose, Potter," Crabbe gloated, "Give me the boy, Lupin."

"Here," Remus tossed the bundle at Crabbe, who stumbled in surprise and dropped his wand.

"NOW, SEVVY!" Remus yelled.

"Stupify!" everyone heard the child's voice from the other side of the room. The red light of the Stunner hit Crabbe in the back, and he collapsed.

Arthur quickly took care of Goyle.

"Bind them, tight, and check Crabbe, he should have a Portkey on him," Lupin panted.

Severus ran up to him, dressed only in pants and shirt.

"Did I do ok?" he asked, looking up at the Werewolf.

"You did perfect," Remus replied.

Harry stormed up to him. "You…"

He raised his fist. Remus didn't even try to protect himself from the blow. He stood quiet and waited.

"Harry, no!" Severus yelped, catching Harry's arm and hanging from it, "he didn't hurt me, Harry, he HELPED me! You have to listen to him!"

"I think," Dumbledore said, with a stern gaze on Remus, "that we would all appreciate an explanation."

Remus nodded, and began. "It all started when Draco Malfoy approached me with a plan to disguise himself as Crabbe, and kidnap Sevvy during the holidays. He assumed I would want revenge for being, as he said, 'treated like a slave'. He didn't know that I had already accepted that what he saw as slavery was rather well deserved punishment…" he lowered his eyes for a moment.

"I didn't think you'd believe me, and even if you had, you would have protected Sevvy, but you wouldn't have caught Draco. I wanted him captured. So earlier this evening…"

_Severus struggled against the hand holding him, biting, kicking, hitting._

"_Shhhh, be quiet," a voice said in his ear, "I'm not here to hurt you, I want to help you."_

_Remus Lupin dragged the boy into an unused room, locked it and silenced it._

"_Please, listen to me," he said, with a note of urgency in his tone that made Sevvy stop struggling._

"_Draco Malfoy; you've met him before, wants me to kidnap you and hand you over to him. He wants to bring you to Voldemort. He is in disguise, so no one will recognize him. I want to catch him for you, Sevvy, but I need your help."_

_Sevvy looked at him. "You gave me to the nasty man who hurt me, and pulled me over the cliff!" he said._

_Lupin nodded sadly. "I'm so very sorry, Sevvy. I didn't know he was going to do that, but it was very, very wrong of me. I was jealous of you, and I did very stupid things. I'm so sorry."_

"_Jealous?" Sevvy asked, intrigued._

"_I wanted Harry to myself," Lupin wondered if it was wise to tell that to a six year old, "and I convinced myself that it was your fault Harry was angry with me. It wasn't your fault," he quickly reassured the child, "it was my own fault because I had been mean to Harry. But I didn't want to see that. They punished me, and I understood it was all my own fault."_

"_Did you get grounded?" Sevvy asked._

"_Yes, sort of," Lupin said with a wry grin, "I'm still grounded, actually. Listen. Draco is going to think I will bring you to him in the Entrance Hall. I need your dress robes, so I can pretend I'm carrying you. Then we're going to do the following…"_

"And then I hid in the Hall, and Remus waited on the other side, and I got to Stun him!" Sevvy explained proudly.

"He saved me, Harry, Daddy," he looked at the two imploringly, "I'm not mad at him anymore. Please don't be mad at him anymore either?"

Harry and Dumbledore shared a look.

"Sevvy," Remus said, his eyes still on the floor, "I'm very happy you're not angry anymore, but it's ok if Harry and Daddy still are. I've been very mean."

"But you're sorry," Sevvy said, confused.

"Yes, but being sorry doesn't mean you don't have to be punished," Remus said, squatting in front of the child, "I'm going to finish my punishment. But I hope," he took the small hand in his own, "I hope you will let me be your friend someday."

He got up, and nodded to the Weasleys. "I'm going straight back to my chores, I promise."

He walked away.

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Harry groaned. "Remus!"

The werewolf slowly turned around.

"Would you like to come to the Christmas Party with us?" Harry asked a bit stiffly.

Remus's eyes brightened, a faint flicker of hope in them.

"If…if that's ok…"

Arthur and Dumbledore nodded.

"We're going to have a chat later," they warned him, "but for now it seems you saved Sevvy's life. We'd best get those two cleaned up as well."

Bill stayed with the bound and Stunned young men until the Aurors came. Fifteen minutes into his watch, Crabbe slowly turned into Draco Malfoy. Luckily, Bill was smart enough to redo the binds, as Crabbe was almost twice the size of Malfoy.

Sevvy had retrieved his dress robes, and pulled them over his head.

"Ready now," he said, and taking Harry's and Dumbledore's hands, he dragged them to the feast.

**A/N My apologies to all who wanted an evil Lupin. Sorry. It just wasn't planned that way. To all of you who complained about him being OOC: if you want IC, read the books. You're reading a KIDFIC for Merlin's sake! How much more OOC can it GET?**


	11. Chapter 11

Sevvy was the absolute hero of the Christmas party. After the Aurors had joined the festivities with the news that Draco Malfoy was in Azkaban, and would likely be Kissed that week. Privately, they owned up to Dumbledore that it depended on the Minister, who had the final say, so they were not at all sure about the chances of it actually being administered. They just didn't want to ruin Sevvy's moment.

Lupin was clearly very, very uncomfortable, sitting as far away from the rest of the guests as he could manage. Finally Arthur grabbed him and dragged him off to a sidechamber, where Albus joined them a few minutes later.

Harry saw them go, but didn't insist on joining them. He would have his own chat with his last godfather later. An hour and a half later, the three rejoined the party, Remus looking pale and shaken, but relieved, and the other two apparently satisfied for now with the results of their 'chat'.

Harry was holding a sleeping Sevvy late that night when the headmaster came over to him.

"Arthur and I believe Remus is sincere this time, Harry. We were very hard on him, but he withstood both Veritaserum and Legilimency tests."

"You gave him Veritaserum? And did…" Harry whispered in shock.

Dumbledore smiled grimly, stroking the dark hair of his small son.

"Do you really think I would take any chances anymore? Not with my boy, after all that's happened."

Harry nodded. "I agree," he said softly, "I still need to talk to Remus myself, though."

"Harry…I know you are emancipated, but you are as dear as a son to me as well," Dumbledore looked at him, unsure about how to express himself, "I know you have forgiven me, but you have little reason to care for me. I only hope that you will accept my help and care. Starting with letting me help you train."

Staring into the distance, Harry tried to pull himself together enough to answer.

"After Lucius nearly killed Sevvy, you surprised me," he spoke so softly, the old man had to strain himself to hear him.

"I thought you would be angry with me for not protecting him well enough. But you held me when I needed someone to lean on instead. Even Sirius never made me feel like I had some sort of fatherfigure. You did."

Dumbledore reached out and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Oh Harry, after all you did for Severus, how could I be angry with you? It wasn't your fault, and you saved his life. You make me so proud."

"It's so embarrassing,"Harry mumbled, "I'm legally an adult now, but I find acting like one, having the responsibility of an adult trying sometimes."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," the headmaster cupped his chin and forced him to look up into kind, loving eyes.

"We all get overwhelmed sometimes. You are younger than most, and carry more than anyone I've met. It's alright to need help, child."

"I'm tired, and afraid," Harry finally admitted. "I considered letting the Weasleys adopt me after all; but however dear to me they are, they would still treat me like a child, trying to keep me away from the fight. When you and I both know my involvement cannot be avoided. I need someone to help me, to encourage me, not someone who coddles me."

Dumbledore put an arm around his shoulders and began to guide him through the castle. After a while, he took the sleeping boy from Harry. Up in the tower they put him to bed and stood looking at him together.

"Harry,"Dumbledore took the youth's shoulders, "please, let me help you. You don't have to do this all alone. My own deepest wish is to adopt you myself, but I understand if you object to that. At least let me help you find someone else."

Slowly, Harry leaned forward, his head against the Headmaster's shoulder.

"I don't want anyone else. I've seen what the real you is like now. Please, help me. Let me stay."

Dumbledore pulled back a little and framed the exhausted looking face with his hands. Emerald green was reflected in clear blue.

"Thank you for your trust,"he said softly, "welcome home, my child."

Voldemort's lair –

"Goyle, did your son say anything?"

"My Lord…he said…the werewolf betrayed us…he and Draco were set up…"

"Your son, at least, has the excuse of being as much of an idiot as his father. I want Draco Malfoy broken out of Azkaban. I need to have a chat with that young man."

Hogwarts –

Papers were randomly scattered over an already cluttered desk. Harry walked in to see Dumbledore with a familiar twinkle.

"It's always dangerous when you start twinkling. What's up? You haven't…changed your mind…have you?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I haven't, and I never will. Come here for a moment."

"This is a form of adoption that deals with adopting adults. I went through the whole process when I adopted Severus shortly after his trial and release from Azkaban. This will allow you to become my son, but remain emancipated. It is necessary that you stay an adult so you can use magic, child."

Harry read the parchments. "That's good. I need to be able to train. Do we just…sign and send them off?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said, "basically that is how it works."

Severus entered the room. He looked at his father and Harry, feeling the strange tension in the room.

"Sevvy, come sit down with me," Dumbledore said, "we need to talk to you."

"I didn't do anything wrong, honestly!" Sevvy responded, worried.

"I know, it's not about anything you did or didn't do," Dumbledore assured him.

"Sevvy, you know Harry doesn't have a mommy and daddy,"he began.

Sevvy nodded. "But I'm his brother now, so he isn't all alone," he smiled.

"I know, and you do such a great job," Dumbledore cuddled the child, "but I was wondering…I would like to become Harry's Daddy, just like I am yours. Is that ok with you?"

Sevvy shot up straight. "So we'd be real brothers? With the same last name?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "You both keep your own name, but you can use mine if you wish. Harry is an adult, and technically, so are you."

Sevvy glanced over at the sheepish looking Harry and nodded fervently. "Harry already is my brother, and you already are almost his Daddy, so things would just be the same around here, wouldn't they?"

The two adults looked at each other and burst out laughing at the wonderful display of child's logic.

Azkaban Prison –

The Dementors are leaving me alone. Presumably on my Lord's orders, though I can't imagine why; unless he wants me sane and healthy for when he does kill me. I failed him.

In fact, I've seen very little of anything today. Even the rats are afraid to come out of hiding it seems.

I hate Potter. I hate that werewolf. I hate them all.

What is that sound? I know that voice.

They have come for me . They have come to take me to the Dark Lord.

Hogwarts –

Training. Breakfast. Classes. Training. Lunch. Classes or training. Dinner. Reading, homework.

Those were Harry's days for most of the first quarter of the year. Interrupted briefly by Sevvy's and Ron's birthdays.

Remus was back in the Order, and after a long talk, Harry had accepted him back in his life, and back as one of his teachers. He would never again accept him as a potential guardian or godfather. It hurt the werewolf to realize that, but he knew it to be his own fault. Harry would not easily allow him to earn his friendship, but once he did, they could build a relationship of perhaps even stronger stuff. As equals.

Dumbledore helped Harry train as well, Bill taught him cursebreaking, many others contributed their own specialized skills.

Sevvy didn't like it much. Harry and Daddy had explained that they needed to fight the evil snakeman, but they didn't have much time for him anymore. The other kids in the castle ignored him. Ron and Hermione were nice, but they were worried about Harry, and most of the time, trained with him.

Many nights, when he was left with a house-elf again, he couldn't help but wonder if he did something wrong. His mind knew it wasn't that; it told him Harry and Daddy were just busy, but his stomach hurt sometimes, and the little voice telling him they were angry and didn't want him anymore kept pestering him.

One night, in early April, Harry and Dumbledore returned to the headmasters rooms late, discussing some duelling technique, when they found a little envelope on the table, addressed to them.

"_Dear Daddy and Harry,_

_How are you? Are you going to kill the bad snakeman soon?_

_I miss you. You never come to tuck me in anymore. I know fighting is very important, but could you come tuck me in once like you used to? Together? Please? _

_I thought maybe I did something bad and you are very angry with me. I promise I'll be very, very good. I'll clean my room every day and I won't come disturb you anymore, honestly. Are you going to send me away? I heard you say that one night when I couldn't sleep and wanted some water. I don't know what I did wrong, but I won't do it again. Please don't send me away. Please._

_Severus."_

Harry cursed. Loudly.

Dumbledore's hand shook as he reread the note.

"I neglected him again," he whispered, "I'm so stupid…"

"We both did," Harry said, staring at a picture of a sleeping headmaster, wanting to kick something.

"We thought he understood. But he's only seven years old. I'm sorry…"

Dumbledore hushed him. "You are barely an adult yourself, Harry. I should have been wiser. But lamenting over what we have done wrong doesn't change anything. We must make amends."

"We're taking tomorrow off,"Harry said, "Voldemort or no Voldemort, Sevvy is more important. We'll spend the entire day with him, and we'll make sure that we spend more time with him, no matter how busy we are. We don't need to eat breakfast in the Hall, for example."

Dumbledore nodded. Then he set course for Sevvy's bedroom, Harry following close behind.

The boy had clearly been waiting for them. He was still half-sitting up in bed, his Teddy Bear tight in his arms, as if he was trying to draw strength from it. Harry paled suddenly. Next to the bed was a small suitcase, full of clothes.

"He wants to be good, so he packed. I'm glad we decided not to evacuate him to the mainland after all; apparently that would have been a huge mistake."

A quick spell, and all clothes flew back into the appropriate drawers. Dumbledore lifted Sevvy from the bed, blankets and all.

"Sleep here tonight, Harry. Leave the connecting door between your room and mine open. I'm keeping Sevvy with me tonight."

It was warm. It didn't feel like his own bed. Something was itching.

He opened his eyes. NO! He had fallen asleep waiting for Daddy and Harry to find his letter. And now he was in Daddy's bed, with Daddy's arm around him. And Daddy's beard tickling his face.

Dumbledore woke up.

"Hello, my dear boy," he whispered, as he stroked the child's cheek, "my beautiful child, I'm so sorry we didn't realize we were neglecting you. We will make sure to tuck you in every night again."

"Are you going to send me away? I'll be good, I promise," Sevvy's high voice, already with a touch of the silken quality it had in adult life, sounded strained.

Harry walked in, and without hesitation, he slid in on Sevvy's other side.

"We discussed sending you to the mainland for the duration of the war," he said softly, "because we are so afraid something will happen to you. We just wanted to make sure you are safe. We're not angry with you at all. Only angry at ourselves for forgetting that spending time with you is as important as training."

"You need to kill the evil snakeman," Sevvy said sadly, "I understand. Do you want professor Flitwick to do the spell so I will be big again to help?"

"NO!"duel voices sounded, "No. No, Sevvy. You are going to stay at Hogwarts, where you will be safest."

Sevvy smiled. Then he saw the time.

"You're late for training," he cried, looking at Harry in horror.

"No training today," Harry smiled, "we've taken the day off, and you are too. We're staying with you today."

Sevvy sighed happily.

Voldemort's Lair –

"Well?"

"I thought the brat was close to running off again, straight into our arms, but now they are close again! I don't understand…"

"You better start gaining some understanding quickly, then. I'm not letting you stay at Hogwarts for nothing!"

"Yes, Master. Will you attack soon?"

"You will see. When the time is right. Draco, another one of your ideas down the drain. I'm sick of the brat. Let's focus on our attack plan…"


	12. Chapter 12

"Ravenclaw SCORES! Both teams are evenly matched; the score is 140-140 now! We can expect this to last forever unless one of the Seekers catches the Snitch…"

Harry and Sevvy sat in the stands, following an exciting but rather lengthy Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff Quidditch game. They cheered loudly for both teams - not having a favorite – and just enjoyed the spectacle. Harry pointed out several interesting moves to Severus, and promised they would try them out during their next practice with the Little League.

They were unaware that large eyes followed them, fingers caressing a wand lovingly.

Voldemort's Lair –

"Draco."

"Yes, Master?"

" I am quite pleased with your efforts lately. You are proving to be truly your father's son. Learn from his strengths, and avoid his failures, my dragon."

"Yes, Lord, I shall endeavor to please you, as always."

"Good. You will have a place of honor at my side when we march into the final battle. The one that will settle this matter between myself and Harry Potter for good."

"I…that is a great honor, my Lord, I thank you."

"As soon as our loyal spy at Hogwarts rids us of that small pest that used to be my potions master, we will strike. Potter and the old fool will be consumed with grief and weakened."

"Yes, my Lord. Shall I prepare your troops, sir?"

Voldemort smiled indulgently. "You do that, little dragon. Soon, very soon, all the Wizarding World will see what a wise choice you made in serving me, what honors it brings."

Draco smiled his thanks, and withdrew from the room.

-Hogwarts-

The game ended in a Ravenclaw victory, though narrowly. It had lasted over four hours, and the audience was quite happy to get up from the stands and walk off the residual stiffness that lingered after sitting for so long.

Sevvy smiled at Harry when he saw the ice-cream stand the house elves had set up on the grounds for the spectators. It was a very hot day in late may, and the thoughtful creatures had figured the students would be in need of refreshments.

"Can I go get one, Harry?"

"Yes, but stay with the elves until I or father come to pick you up again. I need to get a hold of Hermione for a moment. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Sevvy nodded and ran off, chatting happily to the elves while he licked his icecream.

After a bit, he became aware of someone watching him. He smiled in recognition.

"Hello."

"Hello, little one. Your father sent me to take you back. Come."

Sevvy hesitated.

"Where are Daddy and Harry?"

"They had to go, child. Come along now, there's a good boy."

Sevvy scowled.

"I'm not a baby!"

"Of course you are not," he wasn't fooled by the placating tone, but assumed it was well meant.

He slowly followed, still eating his icecream. He didn't notice they weren't headed for the entrance until it was too late.

"What…?"

Large eyes behind huge glasses glittered evilly, completely devoid of their normal misty expression.

"My Master will reward me most handsomely for your head, traitor."

Sevvy tried to run, but was held by a surprisingly strong hand. A hand that pulled him towards a familiar tree.

"No, not the Willow, let me GO!" he screamed.

"Yes, the Willow. And the Shack. You should've met your faith there all those years ago, but now you will."

The treebranches were flailing about with wild abandon, destroying everything in their path.

All his fighting was in vain. He was no match for the welltrained female.

With a huge thud, he was flung at the tree, landing in the middle of the whirling branches.

Instinct, honed by years of training he didn't remember, kicked in, and he managed to roll out of the way of three branches.

But the tree had many. He heard evil laughter as two more branches came down. There was no way to avoid those. Staring up in horror, he thought of his Daddy and his brother, and how much he would miss them.

Then two things happened at the same time.

A violently orange half-kneazle darted through the branches and fairly jumped at the knot on the base of the tree.

And a voice yelled "STUPIFY!" followed by the unmistakeble sound of a body slamming to the floor.

Sevvy looked up to see the angry, grim face of Neville Longbottom.

"Well done, Crookshanks," the boy said. Then he knelt down next to Sevvy.

"Are you hurt? Can you stand up?"

Sevvy shied away. "Don't hurt me," he whispered.

The boy sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I know I ignored you, but I never meant you any harm. Come, we need to bring her to the castle; she needs to be interrogated. And I'm sure Dumbledore and Harry will be frantic with worry already."

Sevvy burst into tears. "Harry said to stay with the elves, and I didn't! They're going to be mad at me."

Neville shook his head. "I'll explain it to them, I promise. You thought you could trust a professor, of course."

Sevvy nodded weakly. Neville reached out and picked him up, settling him on his left hip while levitating the Stupified teacher with his wand arm.

They met up with Dumbledore and Harry not far from the – now removed – icecream stand, nearly pounding on two very frightened house-elves.

"Where did you see him last? What direction did he leave? Who was with him?"

"He's right here, he was lured away, but he's safe now," Neville replied.

They both whipped around to see a very strange situation.

Neville Longbottom, shy Gryffindor and having the dubious honor of having Severus Snape as his greatest fear, was now carrying said greatest fear while levitating a very Stunned professor.

"Sybill!" Dumbledore gasped, "she…how?"

"I'd check her left arm, if I were you, sir," Neville suggested, "she tried to kill him."

Harry quickly drew up the left sleeve. And there it was; the ugly, black Dark Mark.

For good measure, they also put her in a body-bind and headed as quietly as possible to Dumbledore's office, after warning Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick.

"Sevvy," Albus said, after tying the Divination teacher up and levitating her to a chair, "come here, child."

Sevvy clung to Neville. "I'm sorry, Daddy, I didn't mean to disobey, I didn't know, she said you sent her!"

Dumbledore swiftly crossed the room and took his son from Neville.

"Child, you don't think we are angry, do you? Of course you didn't mean to disobey." Dumbledore, to Sevvy's great embarrassment, cuddled him like a small child.

"DADDY!" he protested forcefully, "there are people here!"

Being cuddled by Daddy felt very good, and he was only too happy to allow it when he was tucked in, but honestly, he was seven now. Big boys aren't cuddled in public!

Despite his protests, he curled against Dumbledore, seeking comfort after the horrors of the afternoon.

"What happened, Nev?" Harry asked.

"Crookshanks came to get me, as I was nearest, I suppose," Neville said, never taking his eyes off the child, nor his wand from pointing at the still unconcious witch.

"I ran along with him, and arrived just in time to see her throw him to the Whomping Willow."

Dumbledore and Harry both paled. Dumbledore hugged the child harder. The lack of indignation told him the boy was reliving those terrible moments as well.

"Well, after that everything is a bit blurry, but Crookshanks ran up to the tree and pressed a knot at the base, while I Stupified Trelawny."

He looked at the cat that sat at his feet, looking, truth be told, rather smug.

"Then we came up here," Neville shrugged.

A moaning from the chair alerted them that the witch had woken up. Cold fury was radiating from Albus Dumbledore's eyes.

"Filius, there is Veritaserum in that cupboard; would you administer a dose, please?"

The small professor complied. Dumbledore then called for the Hufflepuff ghost.

"Brother, would you please take Severus? He needs your help now, and we need to deal with this…this…This."

When the boy was gone with the ghost, Dumbledore turned to the witch, while McGonagall got a dicta-quill to record the interrogation.

"Your name?"

"Sybill Cassandra Trelawny."

"You are a Death Eater."

"Yes," was the simple reply.

"How long?"

"Since our Lord returned."

"Do you remember our meeting at the Hog's Head, when you applied for this job?"

"Yes; the day I gave you the Prophecy."

"You remember?"

"No; I don't remember true prophesies. But the Dark Lord retrieved it from my mind."

"So he knows."

"Yes; he was not that surprised. He looks forward to crushing Harry Potter. That is why I have to kill Snape. It will hurt Potter, make him weak."

Harry snorted. "Does he plan to act on the prophesy soon?"

"Yes; he is gathering his army. As soon as I send word Snape is dead, he will march."

"March where?" Harry asked, tense.

"To Godric's Hollow," the witch smiled contently before passing out.


	13. Chapter 13

Dumbledore looked at the group of solemn people in front of him.

Harry, Hermione, the Weasley's, Neville, most of the DA, they were all there, as well as the teachers.

He cleared his throat.

"Very serious things have happened. Trelawny kidnapped Sevvy and attempted to kill him. He is safe, thanks to Mr Longbottom and Crookshanks," he reassured the gasping witches and wizards.

"Trelawny turned out to be a Death Eater. She is being kept prisoner. Under Veritaserum, she has given away Voldemort's plans. As soon as she had killed Sevvy, she was supposed to contact him. He would then march to Godric's Hollow for what he intents to be the final battle."

Shouts erupted, fearful and excited at the same time.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore's face became very grave.

"For years, a Death Eater lived among us without us even knowing. I cannot…cannot take such risks anymore, certainly not on the eve of battle. I must ask you all to bare your left arms and show them clearly."

The reactions were slow, but as most people saw the reason behind the request, they pulled up their sleeves to show their arms. Mad Eye Moody nodded happily as he pulled up his own sleeve to reveal his bare arm.

"Constant Vigilance, I'm glad you remember, Albus."

"Certainly, my old friend. How could I forget with you here to remind me?" Dumbledore chuckled.

When assured that no one bore the Dark Mark, the Headmaster directed them to the long tables.

"Sit down and have a drink while I explain our plan."

Harry took his place next to his new father at the head table.

"Voldemort is waiting for a message from Trelawny that Sevvy is dead. We will let her send that message soon. In the meantime, you will notice that Fred and George Weasley are not attending this meeting. This is because they are on a mission to prepare Godric's Hollow."

Molly paled and opened her mouth to shout at Dumbledore, but Arthur put an arm around her shoulders.

"They are adults, love. They're the best we have for this mission. They are clever, stealthy and have a whole barrelfull of gags to plant. I worry as much as you do, because they are our sons, but we have to let them fight their own battles now, Molly."

His wife turned to him with wide eyes, full of tears.

"I know," she whispered, "but they're my babies. I gave birth to them, I rocked them and sang to them…I can't…can't face losing them…I keep seeing Fabian and Gideon…"

"Mom," Bill carefully took her hand, "Mom, I know. I can't promise you we won't die, none of us can. But we love you very much, and we're very grateful for how much you've always loved us and cared for us. Now we are adults, and we can't sit around idle while that madman is on the loose. Allow us to make you and Dad proud of us, Mom?"

Molly hugged her firstborn tightly. "I already am proud of you," she said, "but it's so hard. I understand, but I don't have to like it!" she said, with a bit of her old spirit.

Her children chuckled.

"Molly, I can't make any promises either," Dumbledore said, "I can't make any promises to anyone. I, too, am terrified of losing my children." His hand rested on Harry's shoulder, "but this war involves us all. We have to let them do their part, however much it pains us…and how much we wish to keep them safe."

Molly nodded through her tears.

"When the Twins have booby-trapped Godric's Hollow," Harry took over from the headmaster, who, like Molly, was temporarily unable to speak, "Voldemort's army will be unable to flee the battlefield or call for reinforcements. We, however, can. Fred and George will also have prepared the place where my parent's house used to be. We think Voldemort plans to take me out there. Only he and I can enter."

"The rest of Godric's Hollow will have turned into a huge minefield. All of the traps are made by Fred and George; they all bear their magical signature. They have developed these…" Harry held up small pastils that seemed to consist of a greenish goo and looked incredibly unedible, "each of you will eat one before we Apparate. It will protect you from the effects of their gags. Hermione also created more coins like we used for the DA; these have a portkey function and activate with a password to prevent Death Eaters using them. Now, professor Moody will go over battle tactics with you, but before we do so, Albus has some questions."

Dumbledore stood up.

"Yes, I'd like to know if any of you is a Death Eater, or plans to betray us to Voldemort."

Stunned silence.

"I do," a voice suddenly sounded.

"Seamus?" Harry asked, his jaw dropping, "but you are a half-blood yourself! Why would you sympathise with Voldemort?"

"It's better to be a pureblood," Seamus responded, "and I hate you. I hate Snape. If I turn to Voldemort during battle, he will probably grant me a place in his forces and forgive me for having tainted blood."

He received angry glares from the Muggle-borns and half-bloods in the room.

"Alright, take him away," Harry sighed, "lock him up in the castle. Don't send him to Azkaban! After the battle, maybe we can reason with him."

Voldemort's Lair –

"Any news yet?"

"Not yet, Master, though we believe she is close; the brat hasn't been seen for over a day yet."

"Very well, we will await her report. Is the army ready?"

"Completely, Master. We haven't fed the werewolves for a few days; they are angry and bloodthirsty."

"Excellent, my dragon. Have the guards at Godric's Hollow reported anything?"

"Nothing, my Lord. All is quiet."

Hogwarts –

Very late that night, Fred and George Weasley got back, tired, but satisfied with their work. They immediately went up to the tower to report to Dumbledore.

"It's done. Everything you requested, and a few extra's," they smiled, "any news here?"

"Seamus was arrested," Harry said, "otherwise everyone is just preparing."

The twins raised an eyebrow. "Seamus?"

"We had the house-elves slip Veritaserum in the drinks when we had the meeting," Harry said, "when Albus asked if anyone sympathised with Voldemort, Seamus admitted to it."

"Veritaserum?"

Dumbledore nodded. "We made sure every arm was checked for the Mark, and everyone was dosed. I'm not taking any chances, not anymore."

The twins nodded. They shared a glance, and rolled up their sleeves to reveal unblemished skin.

"You didn't need…" Harry protested.

"Yes, we did," Fred said.

"we will not be exempt," George nodded,

"because you could have been mistaken in us as well."

"Besides, I bet…"

"that you had your arm checked as well, even though you are Voldemort's arch-enemies."

Harry smiled.

Sevvy sat up in bed, wide awake when they checked on him before turning in themselves.

"What is it, little one?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"You're going to battle," Sevvy sniffed, "I heard people. They say you could very well die!" He glared accusingly at Harry.

Dumbledore pulled him on his lap while Harry sat down next to them.

"You have to turn me back into an adult," Sevvy begged, "I want to help you!"

"Sevvy," Harry said gently, "Sevvy, you don't want to be an adult again. I won't have you do it for this. Besides, even if you were there, you couldn't help me. It is between me and Voldemort. Even Daddy won't be able to help me. But you know what?"

Sevvy looked up. "What?"

Harry smiled at him. "I will constantly think of how much you want me to come back, and how much I love you, and that will make me stronger. So you will help me, Sevvy. And will you do something else for us?"

The dark head nodded expectantly.

"Madam Pomfrey and Molly Weasley will stay here, and change the Hall into a huge infirmary. They are going to need lots of help."

Sevvy sighed. "I can go help them," he said. Then he flung his arms around them both.

"I want you to come back, I don't want you to go," he sobbed, "I'm scared."

Harry felt tears running down his own face, and when he looked at Dumbledore, he saw glistering drops in his beard as well.

"Shhhh, Sevvy," the old man soothed, rocking the boy, "I know. It's ok to be scared, Harry and I are scared too. But you understand why we have to go, don't you?"

Sevvy nodded, and rubbed his eyes with his fist. "To stop the bad snakeman from killing more people," he said, "I'll be brave, Daddy."

"And we'll be very careful," Dumbledore promised, "we'll do our best to come back to you."

Voldemort's Lair –

"My Lord, a message has arrived. The boy is dead."

The Dark Lord sat up straighter, his red eyes gleaming ominously.

"He is? How?"

"She threw him to the Whomping Willow, Master. He died at the entrance to the Shrieking Shack. Apparently there isn't…isn't too much left of his body. It will be a closed, private funeral for that reason."

Voldemort burst out laughing. It really wasn't a pleasant sound, but the Death Eater considered it a good sign. At least when he was laughing, the Dark Lord was less likely to curse him.

"She appreciates irony, I must grant her that," he chuckled, "This is a most welcome message. Go. Tell Draco and the others to gather our forces. We leave for Godric's Hollow."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: not following the horcrux story line. But I think you already got the impression that this story is somewhat AU, right?**

"Sevvy, can you run to the infirmary and get some more bandages for me, sweetie?"

He nodded and ran off.

When he came back, he took a moment to take in the sight.

The Great Hall had been emptied of tables and benches. Instead, there were now rows and rows of bunk beds. The staff table had remained, but was now filled with every kind of potions, bandages and other equipment the nurse thought she might need. St. Mungo's was standing by as well, but they expected the majority of wounded from the Order to come here.

He shivered when he looked at the pile of clean white sheets, stuffed away in a corner, to cover up the dead that would undoubtedly arrive. Despite the nurse's competence, they did not expect to be able to save everyone.

He brought his supplies to the nurse, who was inspecting her potions supply with a frown.

"What is wrong?" he asked.

"Bill didn't have much time to brew," the nurse replied absentmindedly, "and the school of course, doesn't have enough healing potions in stock for such huge battles. We will have to be careful with our supplies."

He looked at the rows of vials. There was no way it would ever be enough, he realized. People would die without them. Oh, this was so hard…but Daddy and Harry had always said that sometimes you have to do things you don't like.

"I'll brew," he said softly.

The nurse looked at him. His aversion to Potions was well known – and well debated – among the staff.

"Honey, that is very sweet, but are you sure?"

He nodded. "I can do it, Madam Pomfrey. They're not that hard to brew."

She gently stroked his head. "I know you are very capable, Sevvy, but I'm afraid it will cause you stress."

Yeah, and letting her try and heal the wounded when running out of potions wasn't stressful? He shook his head.

"I can brew," he repeated, "I'll start now, so you'll have fresh batches before these run out. Can I set up cauldrons here? I…I don't want to be alone in the dungeons…"

He hoped she wouldn't think him weak, but he really didn't want to be alone, certainly not far away in the dungeons, when Daddy or Harry could come here wounded…or worse…

The nurse nodded, and called one of the fourty house elves that had enough skill to help out.

"Could you please go to the dungeons and bring up whatever Severus needs? And help him set up in a more or less quiet corner?"

Soon he was preparing ingredients. Despite not having brewn anything in a year, his fingers easily remembered their old skill, and he had three cauldrons of healing potion bubbling in no time. Two others had blood-replenishing potion, and a sixth cauldron was simmering as well, with a gooey blue substance in it.

"What is that?" the nurse asked, when she walked by to see how her little potions master was doing.

"It's very old," he said, using both hands to stir different cauldrons simultaneously – and with different stirring patterns, "I found it in mother's old books. It is a sort of antidote against a variety of Dark curses. If you can see where the curse hit, you rub it on. Otherwise, you water it down, one part goo, two parts water, and let them drink it."

"Won't it clash with other potions?" the nurse asked, stunned.

"It used to," he said, "but I figured out that a bit of peppermint takes care of most reactions. And makes it taste better."

She smiled. "You never used to care about the taste of potions," she couldn't hold back the remark.

He stirred again. "I didn't care about much when I was grown-up, did I?"

Despite being very busy, she walked behind him to ruffle his hair and press a kiss on it.

"Just remember we love you very much," she said before leaving in a hurry.

He had to call a house elf three more times to get him potion vials from the dungeons. While he was bottling up the goo, a lot of commotion and the familiar light of a portkey heralded the arrival of the first wounded.

He was glad he wasn't near enough to see their wounds. He still had nightmares about Lucius Malfoy, and he didn't want to see all the blood. House elves raced through the Hall constantly, tending to the wounded, picking up the potions the nurse needed. They were going through them at an alarming rate, and he quickly set up more cauldrons.

The Hall slowly filled with wounded in various degrees of severity. To the left, they had housed the ones that were only mildy injured; broken bones, heavily bleeding cuts, some curses. His goo worked wonders there, and many of the less injured were able to return to the battlefield after being treated.

His arms started to really, really ache from stirring, and his fingers were cramped from cutting ingredients.

"SEVERUS!" Madam Pomfrey yelled, "can you brew Skele-gro? They're using some sort of curse that blasts bones into fragments."

He nodded wearily. Molly Weasley walked by as he tried to chop ingredients with shaking fingers.

"Child, you can't brew like this!" she exclaimed.

"Have to," he replied, looking up at her in exhaustion, "heard of that curse. Know a potion…need more ingredients.." he muttered.

Molly called over two house-elves.

"Please, help him," she said, "follow his instructions to gather and prepare ingredients. No one else can brew, but I won't forgive myself if he falls over with fatigue."

"I can manage, Mrs…Mrs Weasley," he had to convince her of that. If his father and brother wouldn't allow him to join the battle, fine, but he would not allow them to take away the only useful thing he COULD do.

"Sit down, drink some juice and have a sandwich," she ordered him sternly, "while Manny and Piry get the ingredients ready. I mean it, Sevvy."

Seeing that the elves were perfectly capable of preparing the basic ingredients from the book, he allowed himself a few moments of rest.

Then he jumped up again and took over the more complicated preparations and actual brewing.

While he brewed, he saw familiar faces come by; Hagrid. Bill. Neville was brought in, still holding Bellatrix Lestrange's severed head in his hands. He turned away from that, it made him sick. But no sign of his father or brother.

Then, suddenly, just as he was done, a rush of magic filled the air. He felt a pain like he never felt before, not even under the Cruciatus curse, and he fell back screaming.

"SEVVY!" he heard the voices of Madam Pomfrey and Molly Weasley as they rushed to his side.

His body was on fire. It was being ripped apart. Every single bit hurt. Hurt. HURT!

He convulsed, trying to get away from the pain, dimly aware of hands trying to restrain him.

Then everything went black.

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Bloodsmeared, completely covered in filth, Dumbledore Portkeyed into the Great Hall half an hour later, carrying the limp form of Harry Potter in his arms.

"Poppy!"

"Albus! Thank Merlin…Oh no, Harry…Follow me, quickly."

The old man was surprised when he was rapidly led through the corridors to the actual infirmary.

"Lay him down on that bed, Albus."

The headmaster obeyed. Poppy started casting diagnostic charms on Harry. It was then that Dumbledore saw the occupant of the other bed.

"Sevvy! What happened, why is he here, what…"

The nurse looked up, and pulled him aside.

"Come, Albus. Harry is suffering from magical and physical exhaustion. An elf will clean him up and treat the minor injuries he has. He will remain asleep for quite some time, I am sure, but he will mend."

Dumbledore nodded, a bit relieved.

"Sevvy?" he asked then.

The nurse picked up the small boy and placed him in Dumbledore's arms, then directed him to a comfortable chair.

"Severus is growing up again, Albus," she said softly, "the curse has dissipated. It will be a few days, but his body is already beginning to shift back into its adult form. I've given him Dreamless Sleep because he would undoubtedly be in much pain were he awake."

Dumbledore rocked the limp body.

"Of course," he whispered, "we never realized…Harry defeated Tom," he said.

The nurse's eyes brightened. "He did? He is gone? For good?"

"Yes, he is," Dumbledore said, smiling at the bed, "although I will be having a very long talk with that young man once he is well again about going after Dark Lords without any help at all."

Then he looked a the still form in his arms.

"We never realized that the curse might dissipate once Tom was defeated," he said remorsefully.

"A lot of lives would have been lost without him today," Pomfrey said, stroking the dark hair, "he brewed like crazy. You know how much he hates it, but he did. We'd have lost many more if it weren't for him. All we can do now is wait, Albus. They will both remain here, and you can stay with them if you promise to go clean up, have something to eat and then go to sleep in the spare bed."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Enlarge Sevvy's bed. I'm staying with him, I don't want him to be in pain if the potion wears off early."

Quickly floo'ing to the Hall to make sure everything was under control, the nurse did a final check-up on Harry.

When Dumbledore returned, he was subjected to her wand as well, and directed to the bed he would share with his son.

"What happened, Albus?" the nurse asked, "Sevvy started convulsing suddenly about an hour ago. Was that the moment Harry killed You-Know-Who?"

Dumbledore nodded, and arranged his son more comfortably in his arms.

"Yes, it was. The battle took quite some time. When we arrived at Godric's Hollow, all was still quiet…"

**A/N HA!**


	15. Chapter 15

"At first we didn't see anything. We'd all swallowed the antidote to Fred and George's gags – I wouldn't recommend those to anyone, they really need to do something about the flavor. The twins were in the back, gathering up their magic to activate the traps as soon as the army arrived. Harry was by my side. We'd all taken cover behind the rubble, waiting.

When Tom arrived, we all realized he, and his followers, had all been in Godric's Hollow before; they Apparated in."

Dumbledore held Sevvy closer, who had started growing already and was now about 12 years old.

"I guess the Twins were tired of hearing him gloat every time he enters a battle. As soon as he opened his mouth, they set off one of the gags that was just behind him."

Suddenly the old man giggled.

"It was a rather explosive Incendio that sounded a bit like a Muggle Whoopee cushion, except it shot flames. Tom let out a VERY undignified yelp," he snorted, "and his Death Eaters were all staring at him like "What? Aren't you supposed to be fearless?". It was priceless.

Tom was furious, of course. He just screamed 'Attack' without any further orders on how, who, where, when. Whatever strategy he had in mind just went out the window. Which was a good thing for us, because Alastor DID think strategy…"

The nurse snorted. Every single Order member had the strategy drilled into his or her head. The old Auror had barely restrained from using the Imperius curse to make sure everyone did what they were supposed to do.

"The Death Eaters rushed forward, along with the werewolves, to comply. Then Fred and George set off the field they had planted before."

"I would guess that not even half the Death Eaters and werewolves escaped the field unharmed. Fred and George had deliberately held Remus back with them, because they had filled bags with silver powder and tied them to fireworks. When they set them off, a lot of werewolves were showered with it…"

Dumbledore grimaced. "It was nasty to see. Fenrir Greyback took most of the powder. He…incinerated..before our very eyes. Many others sustained heavy burns. Remus couldn't even look. Fred and George told him to stay clear of the field, because of the powder residue, but I think he was too shocked to rush at the werewolves anyway.

The Death Eaters weren't harmed by the silver, of course, but many got hurt by the werewolves who were going insane with the pain. They were very, very angry, and started shooting hexes in our direction randomly. That's when the twins fired wand sparks at two corners of what used to be a street, and a huge shield activated.

The shield only held for a few minutes, but it did give us time to get into position. Voldemort had seen Harry by then…"

The old man swallowed.

"Harry looked at me, thanked me for everything, and ran off. I yelled for him to come back, but he ignored everything, and ran for the ruins of James and Lily's house."

Poppy frowned. "But wasn't that the idea?"

The headmaster nodded violently, "YES! But not without backup! By then both sides had split up and smaller fights had started. He just ran through them, shooting occasional spells to keep people off his back, and then he ran into three Dementors."

Dumbledore shot a glare at the still sleeping young man. "He is SO grounded!"

Poppy burst into laughter. "Oh yes, the Prophet would have a field day with that: 'Hero of the Wizarding World Grounded for Fulfilling Destiny.'"

"Anyway, I ran after him," Dumbledore continued, ignoring the nurse, "and just before I got there, he produced the most powerful Patronus I have ever seen. I've never seen Dementors flee that fast. It was a good thing, though, that the twins developed something to counter the effects of their gags, or we'd have been in big trouble; those were some powerful and clever spells.

I tried to follow Harry, but I got distracted when I saw Neville battling both Bellatrix and Draco at the same time. Draco was closest to me, and I had an issue with him over his attempts to kill Sevvy…he was no match for me."

The nurse gasped. "Albus! You…you didn't!"

"I didn't kill him, no," the old man said wearily, "I know I am to blame as well for how many of Slytherin house have turned to Tom. If it wasn't for Severus we'd have lost many more. No, I didn't kill Draco. I Petrified him, put a Locking Spell on him, and left him for the Aurors. I wanted to help Neville with Bellatrix, but he told me to back off and leave her to him. I never saw him again…"

"He is here," the nurse said, "he arrived here with that witch's head in his hands. Severus's potion allowed us to stabilize him for now, but I'm not sure if he will live. You should see the look on his face, though; sad and triumphant at the same time."

"I imagine he would be," Dumbledore sighed. "I saw many people fight, and die, while I searched for Harry. I finally found him, with Tom, in the ruins of the house. The shields he had Fred and George make worked, and I couldn't get to him!"

Frustration was painted on his face, and the nurse felt sorry for him.

"He's fine now, Albus, he survived and will be up and about soon," she soothed.

The headmaster expelled the air he hadn't even realized he was holding.

"I know, dear. But it was so horrid, to see them, and not be able to help."

"How did he defeat him, Albus?"

"I'm…not sure. They battled for quite some time, neither gaining the upper hand. Tom taunted him constantly, but Harry never reacted. He seemed so focused, so completely concentrated on what he had to do that he didn't see anything but Tom.

Tom bombarded him with ancient, rare, powerful spells, anything he could think of, in fact. He clearly believed in our trick that Severus is dead; he constantly tormented Harry with it. I had trouble staying calm, even though I knew Sevvy was fine, but Harry didn't so much as flinch. He stayed focused on his shields, on deflecting, on avoiding the curses."

Dumbledore sighed, and held the limp body of his youngest – eldest – son closer.

"Then Harry cast an Expelliarmus."

The nurse's eyes widened. "Such a simple spell?"

"Yes, such a simple spell. But when thrown with accuracy and power, it can accomplish much more than people give it credit for. Tom was too arrogant; he let it through. His wand flew out of his hand and towards Harry, who caught it.

Tom, of course, may be arrogant, but not stupid. He had another wand on him. I…I thought my heart stopped beating when he started the killing curse, but then Harry held both wands together with both hands, and started a Latin chant; I've never heard it before! There's so many things I want to know once he wakes up…"

"Anyway, he chanted. _Vox duos profugus vestri animus pro infinitio_. Didn't even sound like proper Latin to me, but the wands…the wands seemed to melt into one, and a beam shot towards Tom. I never saw so many spell effects at once; Priori Incantatem took place; Tom was haunted by his victims. The wands glowed, as did Harry, with the pure force of the spell. Phoenix song filled the battlefield, stronger than I've ever heard. And the beam connected with Tom's chest. And he…he…he changed, Poppy. I think that was the hardest part. Every transformation he performed upon himself came off, and he was that young boy again that studied here. I know he was already going dark when he was here, but still…It shocked Harry too, I know, but he didn't let go. Finally Tom screamed one more time, and then his body fell to the ground, dead."

Dumbledore sobbed. "That was the worst part, Poppy, to see him again as a boy, and being reminded that I didn't, couldn't save him."

The nurse held a vial to his lips, and he slowly drifted off into much needed sleep.

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Harry slowly opened his eyes. He was…not dead. He couldn't help but groan when he realized he was in his usual spot in the infirmary.

"Harry?"

Someone had taken his glasses. And now they expected him to recognize them? Suuuure.

"Ggggggg."

A glass was pressed to his parched lips, and he drank greedily. After only a few sips the glass was taken, and he moaned in disappointment.

A chuckle above him clued him in on who was with him. Plus, the white beard tickled. He sighed.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Suddenly arms were around him. "Oh Harry…I'm so happy you are safe, and that the battle is won, that I don't think I can manage a scolding any time soon."

"Give me my glasses, please?"

The world finally came into focus.

"Ron? 'Mione?"

"Safe." Dumbledore knew that he had to tell his son at some point that Hagrid had died, but decided that now was not the time.

Harry didn't need to ask if Voldemort was gone. He knew.

"Sevvy?"

Dumbledore helped him up. "Harry…when Tom died…the spell…it dissipated."

Harry stared at him, not understanding what he'd heard.

"Dissipated? You mean…"

"Yes, Harry. Severus is an adult again."

Dumbledore glanced at the bed beside Harry, where Severus was still unconcious, but now fully returned to his adult form.

"He didn't want that," Harry whispered.

"I know," the headmaster said, gently stroking Severus's hair, "but there's nothing we can do about it now."

Harry swallowed hard. "He'll hate me again," he said miserably.

Dumbledore shook his head.

"We don't know that," he said, "we don't know how much he'll remember and how much it will influence him. But I can tell you this, Harry, he will be very insecure, even more so than when he was six. He'll probably just not show it."

Harry got up and sat besides his brother.

"Is he going to be ok? Why is he not awake?"

"His body is exhausted from shifting back. It hurt a great deal."

Dumbledore sat down at the other side of the bed.

"He will wake up in a few hours, Poppy says."

Harry nodded.

Dumbledore leaned forward and laid a kiss on his sleeping son's forehead.

"We are expected in the Great Hall for a bit, Harry, to give statements to reporters and such. The necessary aftermath," he rolled his eyes.

Harry grimaced. "Was it like that after Grindelwald too?"

Dumbledore sighed dramatically. "You have no idea. We better go to them, or they will find their way in here and disturb Severus's rest."

Harry quickly slipped on some robes.

"We better get it over with, then," he said, "so we can be with Sevvy…professor Snape…when he wakes up. Please tell me Rita Skeeter isn't here…"

The Headmaster laughed. "I'm afraid so, Harry."

Harry smiled wryly before taking his brothers hand. Dumbledore took the other.

"Sleep well, Severus," Harry said gently, "we'll be back soon. I promise I will always be your brother."

"And I your father," Dumbledore added with a smile.

"Well," Harry summoned his Gryffindor courage, "let's go tame the beasts, shall we?"

Secure in the knowledge that both his boys had survived the war, Dumbledore followed Harry out to meet the assembled press.

**A/N Well then, this was the last chapter of part two! One more part to go. Must say I'm running out of creative ideas to kill Voldemort. Any suggestions for when I write another story in which I must kill him?**


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